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PRINCETON,  N.  J. 


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SACRED   HISTORY 


FROM 


THE   CREATION 


TO 


THE    GIVING    OF    THE    LAW 


BY 

EDWARD   P.   HUMPHREY,  D.D.,   LLD. 

SOMETIME    PROFESSOR   IN  THE   DANVILLE   THEOLOGICAL   SEMINARY 


NEW  YORK 
A.    C.    ARMSTRONG    AND    SON 

714   BROADWAY 
1888 


Copyright,  1888, 
By  a.  C.  ARMSTRONG  &  SON. 


RAND   AVERY  COMPANY, 

ELECTROTYPERS  AND  PRINTERS, 

BOSTON. 


PREFACE. 


One  of  the  objects  of  this  work  is  to  furnish  a  ready  help 
to  the  understanding  of  those  perplexing  passages  of  the  earli- 
est Scriptures,  which  furnish  so  much  of  the  working  capital  of 
cavillers  and  unbelievers,  and  by  which  candid  and  devout 
readers  are  so  often  disturbed,  because  these  passages,  if 
seen  from  the  point  of  view  of  a  narrow  observation,  seem 
not  only  strange,  but  sometimes  quite  unintelligible.  But  if 
viewed  in  their  connection  with  the  entire  sweep  of  the  Sacred 
Scriptures,  and  in  their  vital  relation  to  the  unfolding  principles 
and  processes  of  the  kingdom  of  God,  that  which  seemed 
strange  becomes  appropriate,  and  the  obscure  is  made  clear 
in  the  light  of  the  glory  of  the  past  and  the  present  and  the 
future  comings  of  the  Lord. 

With  a  wonderful  patience  and  skill,  has  the  author  rescued 
from  obscurity  and  possible  contempt  a  multitude  of  Scripture 
passages,  by  so  setting  them  in  their  honorable  and  what  are 
shown  to  be  their  necessary  places,  in  the  grand  whole  of  Sacred 
History,  that  their  beauty  and  value  are  at  once  discerned. 

The  author's  enthusiasm  and  devout  interest  in  the  subject 
of  Sacred  or  Biblical  History,  which  began  early,  have  been  the 
growth  of  a  lifetime.  He  had  a  thorough  acquaintance  with 
the  theme,  resulting  from  a  careful  study  of  every  verse  and 
line  of  the  Bible  bearing  upon  it,  and  from  a  comprehensive 
reading  of  the  literature  of  all  sides  of  the  subject;  which 
study  and  reading  have  extended  through  more  than  forty  of 
the  best  and  most  vigorous  of  his  years. 


iv  PREFACE. 

Rev.  Dr.  Robert  Christie  of  St.  Paul,  Minn.,  who  was  Dr. 
Humphrey's  successor  in  the  College-street  Church  at  Louis- 
ville, wrote  a  spontaneous  notice  of  him  soon'  after  his  death,  a 
portion  of  which,  is,  with  Dr.  Christie's  permission,  inserted 
here :  — 

"Edward  Porter  Humphrey  was  born  in  Fairfield,  Conn.,  in  an  atmos- 
phere of  piety  and  culture.  The  name  Humphrey,  and  the  maternal  name 
Porter,  so  j)rominently  connected  with  the  presidencies  of  Amherst  and 
Yale,  show  that  he  belonged,  on  both  sides,  to  the  '  academic  races  '  of  New 
England.  He  studied  at  Amherst  while  his  father.  Dr.  Heman  Humphrey, 
was  president,  and  fiUed  the  position  of  tutoi%  for  some  time  after  he 
graduated,  in  the  same  institution.  He  pursued  his  theological  studies  at 
Andover  while  Dr.  Moses  Stuart  was  creating  a  new  era  in  biblical  learning, 
and  the  impress  of  that  great  teacher  was  legible  in  all  Dr.  Humphrey's 
handling  of  Scripture.  In  response  to  the  Macedonian  cry  that  was  reach- 
ing New  England  from  the  '  Far  West,'  some  fifty-four  years  ago,  he  came 
to  Jeffersonville,  Ind.,  and  took  charge  of  a  mission  congregation  there ; 
but  in  about  a  year  he  accepted  a  call  to  the  Second  Presbyterian  Church 
of  Louisville,  where  he  laboi'ed  with  distinguished  success  for  eighteen  years. 
About  that  time  he  was  elected  to  a  chair  in  Princeton  Seminary,  which  he 
declined,  but  was  afterwards  prevailed  on  to  accept  the  chair  of  church 
history  in  the  seminary  at  Danville,  Ky.  There  his  fine  scholarship,  his 
pulpit  power,  his  graceful  diction,  his  manifest  piety,  his  winning  manners 
and  unrivalled  skill  in  imparting  knowledge,  made  him  the  ideal  professor, 
to  whose  influence  the  minds  and  hearts  of  the  students  turned  as  the 
clay  to  the  seal. 

"  At  the  close  of  the  war,  a  few  of  his  old  congregation  in  Louisville 
removed  from  that  Church,  and  formed  a  new  enterprise,  and  invited  Dr. 
Humphrey  to  take  charge  of  them.  Looking  upon  it  as  a  call  from  God, 
he  entered  upon  the  work,  and  soon  gathered  around  him  a  vigorous 
congregation  which  included  among  its  members  some  of  the  most  eminent 
professional  men  of  the  city.  According  to  a  long-formed  resolution,  he 
resigned  the  pastorate  of  College-street  Church  when  he  reached  his 
seventieth  year,  leaving  as  a  monument  of  fourteen  years'  labor  a  large 
and  flourishing  congregation,  occupying  one  of  the  most  commodious  and 
beautiful  houses  of  worship  in  a  city  noted  for  attractive  church  buildings. 

"  The  vast  dimensions  of  some  buildings  are  concealed  by  their  perfect 
proportions,  and  so  the  greatness  of  Dr.  Humphrey  did  not  strike  the  casual 
glance  by  reason  of  the  finely  balanced  harmony  of-  his  many  great  powers. 


PliEFACE.  V 

All  the  faculties  of  his  mind  seemed  equally  vigorous,  and  would  have 
enabled  him  to  excel  in  almost  any  walk  of  ambition  in  which  he  had 
chosen  to  exert  his  abilities.  In  a  State  where  the  standard  of  eloquence 
has  been  formed  on  the  finest  models,  he  was  listened  to  with  increasing 
admiration  for  half  a  century.  His  pulpit  style  was  a  fine  blending  of 
strength  and  beauty,  warmed  by  the  glow  of  imagination,  sensibility,  and 
intense  conviction.  But,  as  Lord  Cockburn  has  said  of  his  friend  Blair, 
*  His  true  eloquence  was  iii  the  dignity  of  his  look  and  manner,  and  in 
the  weight  of  his  reputation.' 

"  No  diocesan  bishop  of  any  branch  of  the  Church  ever  received  more 
homage  from  the  clergy  of  his  charge  than  has  been  freely  given  to  Dr. 
Humphrey  for  a  quarter  of  a  century  by  the  membership  of  the  synod  to 
which  he  belonged;  and  none  was  ever  less  conscious  of  the  possession  of 
such  influence,  or  was  farther  from  abusing  it.  The  venei-ation  for  him  was 
almost  filial  in  its  depth  and  tenderness,  and  to  a  multitude  of  fellow- 
citizens  he  has  long  been  a  kind  of  pole-star  to  whom  they  looked  for 
guidance  on  the  great  moral  questions  that  from  time  to  time  have  agitated 
the  city  or  commonwealth.  And  that  star  in  the  heavens  has  not  been 
more  faithful  to  the  points  of  the  compass  than  he  has  been  to  the  cause 
of  truth  and  righteousness. 

"  Those  who  have  known  the  author  intimately  venture  the  opinion  that 
if  a  biography  of  him  could  be  so  written  as  to  present  any  thing  like  the 
living  reality,  the  theological  student  of  to-day  would  have  about  the  best 
ministerial  model  that  our  century  has  produced." 

Meanwhile  some  of  the  best  fruits  of  Dr.  Humphrey's  think- 
ing have  been  gathered  by  himself  into  the  following  chapters. 
He  did  this  at  the  repeated  solicitation  of  clergymen  who  had 
been  his  pupils  and  of  many  other  friends. 

During  the  last  autumn  he  quite  completed  the  manuscript, 
and  made  all  arrangements  with  the  present  publishers  for  its 
publication.  But  before  the  work  could  be  even  begun,  he 
was  called  away  from  this  life  on  the  9th  of  December,  1887, 
and  summoned  to  the  heavenly  ministries. 

It  is  quite  safe  to  say,  out  of  one's  actual  experience,  that 
the  reader  of  these  pages  will  often  find  himself  lifted  up  to 
a  height  of  vision  from  which  he  surveys  the  entire  field  of 
sacred  history  at  a  glance,  and  sees  the  harmonious  relations 


vi  PBEFACE. 

of  its  various  parts,  and  exclaims  with  deliglit  at  the  surprising 
clearness  and  completeness  of  the  view,  and  the  ease  and  grace 
with  which  he  has  been  lifted  to  the  enjoyment  of  it.  And 
tliough  he  may  have  read  a  score  of  books  that,  in  certain  lines, 
have  traversed  and  compassed  the  same  field,  and  done  it  well, 
yet  he  has  the  feeling  that  the  wholeness  of  the  Divine  plan,  in 
its  purposes  and  in  its  progressive  unfoldings,  has  never  been 
so  clearly  presented  to  his  mind  before. 

A  careful  perusal  of  the  entire  book  has  produced  the  con- 
viction that  it  .will  bring  welcome  assistance  to  all  ministers 
who  are  seeking  to  broaden  and  deepen  their  comprehension  of 
Divine  truth ;  that  it  will  bring  a  surprising  number  of  fresh 
suggestions  of  kindling  and  enriching  thought  to  all  careful 
students  of  the  Bible,  and  advanced  readers  of  Sacred  Historj^ ; 
that  it  will  clear  away  the  mists  from  the  vision  of  many 
serious  and  candid  doubters ;  and  that  it  will  refresh  and 
confirm  and  gladden  the  choicest  hopes,  personal  and  evangeli- 
cal, of  all  those  devout  readers  who  regard  themselves  and  all 
believing  souls,  the  world  over,  as  inheritors  of  "  the  covenants 
and  the  promises,"  and  who  in  these  days  are  "  waiting  for  the 
manifestation  of  the  Sons  of  God." 

With  these  considerations  in  view,  the  sons  of  Dr.  Humphrey 
send  this  book  forth,  in  affectionate  and  reverent  memory  of 
its  author,  with  the  prayer  that  it  may  have  the  usefulness 
which  he  so  devoutly  desired  for  it,  and  in  the  hope  that  it 
may  be  also  a  fit  monument  to  his  love  and  loyalty  to  the 
"Word  and  Kingdom  of  God. 

Louisville,  Ky.,  February,  1888. 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  I.  PAGE 

Sacred  History .1 

Explains  the  Origin,  Fall,  and  Eestoration  of  Man.  —  Paul's 
Apothegm,  1  Cor.  xv.  22,  furnishes  the  Key  to  both  Sacred 
and  Profane  History.  —  Story  of  the  Supernatural. — The  Bible 
is  Supernatural  as  to  its  Origin,  Authorship,  Substance,  and 
Credentials.  —  Inspired  as  to  its  Plan,  its  Eevelations,  its 
Selection  of  Contents,  its  Foresight,  its  Inerrancy^ 

CHAPTER  n. 
The  Creation     .         .         .         . 12 

The  Being  of  God  assumed.  —  His  Unity  shown. — His  Trinity  sug- 
gested.—  Narrative  free  from  Myths. — The  Six  Days.  —  "Con- 
flict Literature"  discussed.  —  Harmony  of  Bible  and  Science. — 
Three  Classes  of  Difficulties  considered.  —  Provisional  Solutions.  — 
Is  Science  Prophetic  ? 

CHAPTER  m. 
The  Max 30 

Created,  not  Begotten.  —  Created  Single  and  Alone.  — Absolute  Unity 
of  Origin  confirmed  by  Formation  of  Woman.  —  Made  in  the  Image 
of  God  in  Several  Particulars.  — Man's  Royal  Dignity.  — Atheistic 
and  Theistic  Evolution  considered.  —  The  Garden  of  Eden.  — 
Man's  Dominion.  — Ordinances  of  the  Sabbath  and  Marriage. 

CHAPTER  IV. 
The  Fall 50 

Covenant  of  Works.  —  Reasonableness  of  the  Edenic  Test.  —  The 
Tempter  and  the  Tempted.  —  The  Immediate  Effects  of  Disobedi- 
ence. —  The  Judgment.  —  The  Expulsion  from  Eden.  —  Analogy 
between  Temptation  of  Adam  and  that  of  Christ. 

CHAPTER  V. 
The  First  Gospel      .        .        .        • 65 

Covenant  of  Grace.  —  Mercy  shining  out  of  Judgment.  —  Promise  of 
Salvation  sure. — Features  of  the  Plant— Conflict  between  the 
Serpent,  and  the  Seed  of  the  Woman.  —  Demoniacal  Possessions.  — 
Mercy  and  Justice  go  Hand  in  Hand.  —  Allegorical  Explanations 
considered. 

vii 


viii  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  VI.  PAGE 

Cain,  Abel,  and  Seth 80 

Eeflex  Teachings  of  Cain's  Crime. —  The  First  Conflict  of  the  Two 
Seeds.  —  The  Two  Sacrifices.  —  Interpretation  of  the  Words,  "  Sin 
lieth  at  the  Door."  —  Meaning  of  Curse  upon  Cain.  —  Lamech's 
Family,  and  Lamech's  Song.  —  The  First  Kecorded  Poem.  — 
Seth's  Family,  and  Enoch's  Song.  —  The  Godless  and  the  Godly 
contrasted. 

CHAPTER  VII. 
The  Second  Apostasy 95 

Intermarriage  of  Sethites  and  Cainites.  —  "  Sons  of  God  "  explained.  — 
Traces  of  Apostasy  multiply.  —  Final  Forbearance  for  One  Hundred 
and  Twenty  Years.  —  Gracious  Offers  made  through  Noah.  — 
Meaning  of  "  Spirits  in  Prison."  —  The  Church  before  the  Flood. — 
Moses'  History  or  None  for  Two  Thousand  Years. — Importance 
of  the  Genealogies,  and  of  Patriarchal  Longevity. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

The  Deluge 112 

The  Kecord  of  the  Flood  necessary  to  what  Precedes  and  Follows.  — 
Story  confirmed  by  New  Testament,  and  by  Traditions  of  Many 
Nations.  — Its  Extent  considered.  —Headship  of  Noah.  — History 
of  the  Race  rooted  in  the  Constitution  of  the  Family.  —  The  Church 
in  the  Ark. 

CHAPTER   IX. 
Revelations  to  Noah 127 

Enlarged  Ptitual  of  "Worship.  — Noah's  Sacrifice  Prophetic.  —  The  Earth 
given  to  Noah.  —  Reason  of  Death-Penalty.  —  Fundamental 
Principles  of  Government.  —  Wealth  of  the  New  Covenant.  — 
The  Bright  Symbol  of  Mercy.  —  Noah's  Prophetic  Ode.  —  Ultimate 
Salvation  for  Japheth  and  Ham,  through  Shem. 


CHAPTER  X. 

The  Sons  of  Noah 145 

Great  Scientific  Value  of  this  Genealogy  :  the  Springs  of  History.  — 
Evidences  that  Noah  was  a  Prophet.  — Missionary  Map.  —  Was  it 
"Good  Guessing,"  or  Inspiration  ?  —  Testimony  of  Rawlinson  and 
Max  MUller.  — Gen.  x.,  in  the  Light  of  Archteological  Science. 


CHAPTER  XL 
Babel 155 

The  Post-diluvian  Home  of  the  Race.  —  "  One  Lip  and  One  Word."  — 
Conspiracy  of  Ungodliness.  —  A  Titanic  Enterprise  of  Rebellion.  — 
Identity  of  Languages,  as  seen  in  their  Roots. — The  Semitic, 
Aiyan,  and  Turanian  Groups.  —  Heathen  Confirmations  of 
Babel.  —  Gracious  Purposes  remembered  and  recorded. 


CONTENTS.  -  ix 

CHAPTER  XII.  PAGE 

The  Old  and  the  New 169 

An  Unparalleled  Genealogical  Kecord. — Diminished  Longevity. — 
Transition  from  Universalism  to  Particularism.  —  Not  Exclusiv- 
ism.  —  Idolatry  increasing.  —  Revealed  Religion  organized.  — 
Christianity  prej^ared  for  Man,  and  Man  for  it.  —  Parable  of  the 
Prodigal  Son  broadly  applied.  —  The  Divine  Scheme  General,  then 
Particular,  then  General  again  to  the  end. 

CHAPTER  Xni. 
Call  of  Abram 184 

Abram's  Chronology.  —  Ilis  Illustrious  Prominence  in  the  Divine 
Records.  —  The  Divineness  and  Sovereignty  of  his  Vocation.  — 
The  Ten  Theophanies.  —  His  Complete  Isolation.  —  Honored  by 
Various  Peoples.  —  Divine  Treatment  of  Friends  and  Enemies.  — 
Abraham  and  his  Descendants. —  Third  Messianic  Promise. 

CHAPTER   XIV. 

The  Giving  of  the  Covenant 195 

A  Progressive  Process,  from  Ur  to  Moriah.  —  Three  Periods,  covering 
Fifty-one  Years.  —  Corresponding  Progress  in  the  Promises.  — 
Abraham  becomes  a  Medium  of  Divine  Revelations.  —  Also  the 
Organic  Head  of  the  Church  Visible.  —  His  Acts  Prophetic.  — 
The  Father  and  the  Representative  of  Believers  in  All  Ages. 

CHAPTER   XV. 
Spiritual  Discipline 216 

Formation  of  Abraham's  Personal  Character.  —  His  Piety  developed 
by  Mingled  Encouragements  and  Trials.  —  Justified  from  the  Time 
of  his  Call. — Faith  the  Instrumental  Cause.  —  Obedience  and  a 
Godly  Life  the  Results.  —  Exceeding  Beauty  and  Excellence  of  his 
Character.  —  The  Precise  Object  of  his  Faith  considered. 

CHAPTER  XVI. 
The  Promised  Land 232 

Divinely  selected  and  designated. — Providentially  kept  for  Israel 
by  the  Canaanitos.  —  Remarkably  Fruitful  and  Attractive.  — 
Its  Present  Condition  explained. — Isolated  for  Two  Hundred 
Tears.  —  Becoming,  at  the  Proper  Time,  the  Highway  of  the 
Nations.  —  Type  of  the  Heavenly  Country. 

CHAPTER  XVII. 
The  Promised  Seed 2i4 

1.  The  Descendants  of  Isaac  and  Jacob.  —  2.  Esau,  with  the  De- 
scendants of  Hagar  and  Keturah.  —  3.  All  Believers. —  4.  The 
Consummation  in  Christ.  —  Some  of  the  Promised  Blessings  secured 
to  Each  of  these  Classes. —  The  Highest  Benefits  open  to  them 
all.  —  Consequent  Human  Obligations. 


X  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  XVIII.  PAGE 

The  Seal  of  the  Covenant 254 

Circumcision  no  New  Thing.  —  Chosen  to  be  Sign  of  Covenant. — 
Pointing  to  Inborn  Sinfuhiess.  — Signifying  Moral  Purification. — 
Properties  of  a  Sacrament  enumerated.  —  Circumcision  has  them 
all. — Not  a  Sanitary,  but  a  Spiritual,  Arrangement.  —  It  has  no 
Saving  Efficacy. — It  led  to  Visibility  of  the  Church.  —  Some 
Blessing  to  Every  Recipient.  —  Severe  Penalty  for  Neglect.  — 
Inward  Grace  can  dispense  with  it. 

CHAPTER   XIX. 
Excision  and  Adoption .    266 

1,  Sovereign  Exclusion. — Ishmael,  Sons  of  Keturah,  Esau,  etc. — 
2.  Penal  Exclusion.  —  More  Continuous.  —  Apostasy  caused  by 
Balaam. — Disruption  under  Eehoboam. — Excision  of  the  "Lost 
Tribes."  —  Discrimination  within  Judah.  —  Excision  in  the 
Wilderness.  —  From  Malachi  to  the  Cross.  —  The  Crucifixion  a 
National  Crime.  —  Adoption  arranged  for  in  the  Law  of  the 
Passover.  — Extended  and  widened  by  the  Apostles.  —  Co-oixlinate 
Operation  of  the  Two  Principles.  —  How  the  Fall  of  the  Jews  min- 
istered to  the  Bringing-in  of  the  Gentiles.  —  Fulness  of  Gentiles 
to  re-act  in  Favor  of  Jews.  —  Identity  of  Jewish  and  Christian 
Church. 

CHAPTER  XX. 
The  Covenant  enduring  forever  . 285 

Terms  of  the  Ordinance.  —  In  Force  from  Abraham  to  Malachi. 
Songs  of  Mary  and  Zacharias.  —  The  Original  Promise  echoed 
in  "  Go  teach  All  Nations."  —  Outstanding  Engagements.  — 
Confirmed  by  an  Oath.  —  Abraharaic  Covenant  compared  with 
Sinaitic.  —  Infants  included  in  the  Covenant.  —  Silence  supports 
Privileges  once  granted.  —  Parallel  between  Baptism  and  Cir- 
cumcision. —  Baptism  an  Amended  Circumcision.  —  Objections 
answered.  — Analogy  of  Infant  Citizenship.  —  Eights  of  Believers' 
Children. 

CHAPTER  XXI. 

Christ  in  the  Covenant .    303 

The  Jehovah-Angel.  —  Employs  God's  Prerogatives,  and  receives  Ado- 
ration. —  Linked  with  Our  Lord.  —  One  with  and  Distinct  from 
Jehovah.  —  Christ  typified  by  Melchizedek.  —  King  of  Peace.  — 
Offering-up  of  Isaac.  — "  God  will  provide  a  Lamb."  —  A  Christo- 
logical  Transaction. —  Prohibition  of  Human  Sacrifices.  —  Principle 
of  Substitution.  —  Self-immolation  involved.  —  Moriah  and  the 
Temple. — Revelations  to  Adam  and  Abraham  respectively. — 
Covenants  with  Noah  and  Abraham  respectively. 

CHAPTER  XXII. 
Isaac 320 

His  Chronology.  — Himself  the  Fruit  of  Supernatural  Interposition.  — 
Sole  Representative  of  Chosen  Seed.  — Careful  Marriage.  —  Ishmael 
and  the  Bedouins.  —  Isaac  almost  Stationary.  —  Little  more  than 
Connecting  Link  in  the  Chain.  —  Restrained  from  going  to  Egypt. 
—  Fine  Traits  of  Character.  —  Victory  of  Patient  Submission. 


CONTENTS.  Xi 

CHAPTER  XXIII.  PAGE 

Jacob  and  Esau 331 

Divine  Oracle  preceding  their  Birth.  — Physical  Differences  predicting 
Diverse  Characters.  — Esau's  Waywardness.  —  Impiety  in  Sale  of 
Birthright.  —  Jacob's  Grasping  Disposition.  —  Blessing  obtained 
by  Fraud  and  Deception.  —  Blessing  Official  and  not  to  be  recalled. 

—  The  Two  Blessings  contrasted.  —  Parents  and  Sons  all  Guilty 
of  Wrong.  —  Divine  Purpose  accomplished.  —  The  Characters  of 
the  Two  Sons  contrasted. 

CHAPTER   XXIV. 
Jacob's  Exile 343 

He  receives  the  Enlarged  Blessing,  and  departs. — Night  at  Luz. — 
Theophany,  and  a  New  Spiritual  Life.  —  Laban  Grasping  and 
Treacherous.  —  Jacob  beguiled  into  Polygamy.  —  Joseph  a  Child 
of  Prayer.  —  The  Patriarchial  Tree  broadens.  —  Worldly  Prosperity 
and  Family  Troubles. — Journey  Homeward. — Theophany  at 
Jabbok.  —  A  New  Man  with  a  New  Name.  —  Peace  with  Esau. 

CHAPTER   XXV. 
Jacob  at  Hebron 362 

Jacob  in  the  Footsteps  of  Abraham.  —  Shechem,  Past  and  Puture.  — 
Costly  Exclusivism. — Worship  at  Bethel. — Birth  and  Death  at 
Ephrath.  —  Genealogy  of  the  Idumean  Races.  —  Hostile  Encounters 
of  the  Two  "  Seeds."  — Progress  of  the  Kingdom.  —  Many  Reasons 
for  the  Removal  to  Egypt.  —  Hand  of  God  in  Each  Movement. 

CHAPTER  XXVI. 
Joseph  in  Egypt 377 

Chronology  of  Joseph.  —  His  View  of  Who  sent  Him  to  Egypt.  — 
Special  Object  of  Divine  Favor.  — His  Piety.  —  His  Inspiration.  — 
His  Practical  Wisdom  and  Statesmanship. — His  Administration 
criticised  and  defended. — True  Kindness  toward  his  Father  and 
Brothers.  —  Divine  Sovereignty  and  Human  Freedom. 

CHAPTER  XXVII. 
The  Chosen  Seed  in  Egypt 390 

Jacob's  Family  welcomed  and  favored. — Goshen,  "the  Best  of  the 
Land."  — Problem  of  Length  of  Sojourn.  —  Dying  Jacob  is  Inspired 
Israel.  —  The  Coming  of  Shiloli.  —  The  Return  to  Canaan  always 
Presupposed.  — Funeral  March  to  Hebron.  — Its  Religious  Signifi- 
cance.—  Reasons  why  Joseph's  Body  should  remairf  till  the 
Exodus. 

CHAPTER  XXVIII. 

Bondage 403 

The  King  that  "  knew  not  Joseph."  —  Glimpses  of  Intervening  Events. 

—  Manetho's  Theory  of  the  Hyksos. — Scti  I.,  Rameses  II.,  and 
Manephtah.  —  Avowed  Reason  for  oppressing  .the  Hebrews.  — 
The  Treasure-Cities. — Slaughter  of  the  Innocents. —Double 
Bondage,  to  Pharaoh  and  to  Idolatry.  —  Hebrew  Unity,  with  Tribal 
Organization.  —-Problem  of  Deliverance  beyond  Human  Solution. 


xii  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  XXIX.  page 

Moses 416 

Born  amid  Wliolesale  Infanticide.  —  Curious  Mytliological  Parallel.  — 
Educated  in  tlie  Best  Learning  of  the  Time.  —Puts  himself  in  the 
Wrong. — Bravely  chooses  the  "Better  Part."  —  His  Greatness 
hidden  under  a  Menial  Position.  —  Theophany  at  the  Bush. — 
Divine  Ptcvelations.  —  Pressed  into  Service.  —  Braced  up  by 
Wonders.  —  Changed  Temper.  —  Christian  Doctrine  of  Eesurrec- 
tion.  —  That  Doctrine  in  the  Pentateuch. 

CHAPTER  XXX. 

The  Ten  Wonders .         .435 

Moses  and  Aaron  undertake  their  Mission. — Its  Great  Difficulties. 

—  Lenient  Demands  come  first.  —  Era  of  Miracles  opens.  — 
Judgments  Rapid  and  progressively  Severe.  —  Unmistakably 
Supernatural.  —  Impotence  of  Egyptian  Gods  demonstrated.  — 
Egyptian  Sorcery  exiwsed  and  defeated.  —  Explanation  of  the 
Wonders  wrought  by  Magicians. 

CHAPTER   XXXI. 
Pharaoh  !Manephtah 453 

Elements  of  his  Peculiar  Greatness. — His  Temper  first  tested  by 
Gentle  Treatment.  —  He  derides  Jehovah.  —  Judgments  and 
Refusals  and  Relentings  follow  till  the  End. — The  Process  of 
"hardening  Pharaoh's  Heart"  discussed.  —  Pharaoli's  Part  in  it 
was  Voluntary  and  Sinful.  —  God's  Part  in  it  was  Penal  and 
Disciplinary.  —  Parallel  Passages  in  Isaiah  and  New  Testament. 

CHAPTER  XXXIL 
The  Exodus 463 

The  First-born  for  the  First-born. — Divine  Institutions  established, 

—  A  NeAV  Era  begun.  —  Passover  and  its  Several  Objects.  — 
Relations  of  Passover  and  Circumcision.  —  Connection  of  Passover 
and  Lord's  Supper.  — Origin  of  the  Sacerdotal  Order.  —  Redemption 
of  the  First-born.  —Triumphant  Departure.  —  Vast  Value  of  the 
Spoils.  — Meaning  of  "  borrowed  "  and  "lent." 

CHAPTER   XXXIII. 

HOREB  AND   THE   LaW 480 

Reason  for  Long  Route  through  the  Wilderness.  —  Rising  of  a  vastly 
Better  Generation.  —  Opportunity  to  Study  the  Law.  — The  Long 
Wandering  Important  for  the  Heathen  Tribes.  — Crossing  the  Red 
Sea.  —  Locality  Undetermined.  — Vain  Attempts  to  eliminate  the 
Miraculous.  —  The  Continuous  Theophany  of  Fire  and  Cloud.  — 
Its  Various  Offices. —Supplies  of  Food. — Miracles  adapted  td 
the  Case.  — Germ  planted  by  Jethro.  — Dignity  of  the  Theophany 
at  Horeb. — Ordinances  reduced  to  System. — Ritual  of  Worship. 
Functions  of  the  Elders.  —  The  Commonwealth.  —  The  Ruling 
Idea  Theocratic.  —  The  Civil  Polity  and  the  Religious  fused. — 
Functions  of  the  Prophets. — The  Mosaic  Law  a  Growth. —  Best 
Contribution  ever  made  to  Science  of  Government.  —  Unity  of  the 
Pentateuch. 


CONTENTS.  xiii 

CHAPTER  XXXIV.  page 

Sins  of  the  Patriarchs 504 

Their  Heinoiisness  recognized.  —  Views  of  Sceptical  Critics.  —  Unsat- 
isfactory Replies  of  Rabbins  and  Cliristian  Fathers.  —  Record  True 
to  its  Objects.  — Reasons  for  mentioning  the  Sins.  —  Censured  by 
being  recorded. — Condemnation  incidentally  revealed. — Moses 
not  writing  Ethics  or  Biographies.  —  Patriarchs  were  Trustees, 
not  Proprietors.  —  They  were  Good  ilen,  after  all.  —  Divine 
Treatment  of  Good  and  Bad  Men.  —  God's  Strange  Instruments. 

CHAPTER  XXXV. 
Supplementary 519 

Authorship  of  the  Pentateuch.  —  Moses  writes  about  Moses  as  no 
other  Man  would.  —  The  Writer  knows  Egypt.  —  Knows  what  not 
to  say. — Spiritual  Nexus  in  Genesis.  —  The  Four  Messianic 
Promises.  —  Given  to  the  Right  Men,  at  the  Right  Times.  —  The 
Only  Lights  during  Centuries  of  Gloom.  —  Genesis  a  Thesaurus 
of  Memorials.  —  Judaism  made  like  their  own  Dead  Sea  by  the 
Jews.  — Judaism  a  River  of  Life  to  the  World.  —  "  All  the  Ends 
of  the  Earth  shall  fear  HIM." 


SACRED    HISTORY. 


CHAPTER   I. 

SACRED   HISTOEY. 


Befoee  entering  on  the  field  of  sacred  history,  it  is  necessary 
to  consider  the  main  aspects  under  which  this  branch  of  learn- 
ing conies  before  us. 

Sacred  history  explains  how  human  nature,  having  been 
created  in  the  image  of  God,  became  completely  depraved,  and 
how  the  Divine  plan  for  the  restoration  of  man  to  holiness  was 
progressively  revealed.  Paul's  apethegm,  "  As  in  Adam  all  die, 
so  in  Christ  shall  all  be  made  alive,"  is  the  key  to  both  sacred 
and  secular  history.  Redemption  proceeded  from  the  fall  of 
man  to  the  incarnation  and  resurrection  of  Christ,  and  thence 
it  is  now  moving  onward  to  the  end  of  the  world.  While 
assigning  these  temporal  bounds  to  the  w^ork,  it  should  not  be 
forgotten  that  Christ  was  fore-ordained  to  be  our  Saviour  before 
the  foundation  of  the  world  (1  Pet.  i.  20)  ;  and  the  fruits  of 
his  sufferings  will  remain  forever  in  the  holiness  and  blessedness 
of  his  people. 

Biblical  history  tells  the  story  of  the  supernatural.  The 
word  "supernatural"  is  used  here  in  two  senses,  —  first,  for 
that  which  is  above  nature,  and  by  nature  is  meant  any  thing 
out  of  God  ;  next,  for  the  voluntary  agency  of  the  Holy 
Spirit,  transcending  the  power  of  second  causes,  and  therein 
distinguished  from  the  providential  agency  of  God.^  The  Bible, 
being  the  record  of  a  direct  revelation  from  the  Almighty,  is 

1  Hodge  :  Syst.  Theol.,  iii.  214. 


2  SACRED  HISTORY. 

supernatural  in  its  origin.  Having  been  immediately  inspired 
of  him  in  the  original  text,  the  book  is  supernatural  in  its 
authorship.  The  Bible  reveals  the  existence  of  God,  the  mode 
of  his  being  in  three  co-equal  persons,  and  his  adorable  attri- 
butes, unfolding,  side  by  side  with  this  self-revelation  of  God, 
the  history  of  redemption :  the  book,  therefore,  is  supernatural 
in  its  substance.  The  same  volume  informs  us  that  God  saves 
sinful  man  through  the  obedience  and  death  of  his  incarnate 
Son,  whereby  our  pardon  was  purchased,  and  through  the 
immediate  agency  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  whereby  spiritual  life  is 
communicated  to  men  dead  in  sin ;  and  this  joint  work  is  super- 
natural. The  unerring  truth  and  divine  authority  of  the  Bible 
are  attested  by  miracles  and  signs  and  wonders :  the  revelation 
is,  therefore,  supernatural  in  its  credentials.  From  this  it 
follows  that  there  is  an  impassable  difference  between  sacred 
and  profane  history,  and  between  the  Bible  and  every  other 
sacred  book,  so-called,  in  existence.  Profane  history  deals  with 
God's  providential  agency  in  human  affairs,  working  through 
second  causes :  sacred  history  is  largely  the  story  of  his  super- 
natural agency,  either  dispensing  with  the  second  causes,  or 
bounding,  ordering,  and  governing  them  to  his  own  wise  and 
holy  ends.  The  inferiority  of  the  Koran  to  the  Bible  appears, 
among  other  particulars,  in  the  absence  from  the  former  of 
attesting  miracles.  Real  and  imposing  signs  from  heaven  hold 
in  the  Scriptures  the  place  assigned  to  fables  and  myths  in  the 
sacred  books  of  the  heathen.  The  credentials  of  the  Vedas, 
for  example,  are  false  cosmogonies,  spurious  incarnations,  innu- 
merable and  impossible  wonders.  The  basis  of  fact,  which  is 
absent  in  them,  supports  the  Holy  Scriptures. 

The  materials  of  sacred  history  are  deposited  in  the  written 
word.  Nothing  is  left  to  tradition,  either  secular  or  ecclesias- 
tical ;  nor  are  the  materials  hidden  under  obscure  signs  of 
thought,  like  the  hieroglyphics  of  Egypt,  or  like  the  sculptures 
and  cuneiform  inscriptions  of  Nineveh,  or  like  the  thirty  thou- 
sand uncouth  ciphers  of  the  Chinese.  The  Scriptures  were 
written  in  tlie  Hebrew  and  Greek  languages,  and  the  ability  to 
read  the  original  text  may  be  gained  by  any  man  of  ordinary 


THE  HOLY  SCRIPTURES.  3 

intelligence.  Further,  the  record  exists  in  its  integrity.  No 
canonical  book  has  been  lost  out  of  the  volume,  nor  is  any 
one  of  them  mutilated  or  interpolated  or  otherwise  corrupted. 
We  have  them  as  they  came  from  the  pen  of  their  writers ;  we 
have  them  all.  By  the  care  and  providence  of  God,  they  have 
been  kept  pure  in  all  ages,  and  are  therefore  authentical ;  and, 
further  still,  the  record  is  sufficient  and  complete  unto  all  the 
purposes  of  a  veritable  history  of  redemption.  We  need  not 
go  beyond  it  in  order  to  ascertain  or  establish  a  single  important 
fact.  The  task  of  the  inquirer  is  one  of  interpretation,  com- 
parison, and  construction.  He  will  welcome  any  light  which 
the  literature  and  antiquities  of  the  older  nations  may  cast 
upon  the  meaning  of  the  Hebrew  and  Greek  text ;  but  he  will 
accept  that  meaning,  when  ascertained,  as  final  and  conclusive. 
The  plan  upon  which  the  record  is  constructed  is  one  of  the 
products  of  Divine  inspiration.  The  Holy  Scriptures  are  a 
collection  of  books,  sixty-six  in  number,  composed  by  thirty  or 
forty  different  men.  These  writers  were,  for  the  most  part, 
strangers  each  to  all  the  others,  separated  by  habits  of  life,  by 
degrees  of  knowledge,  by  social  position,  by  forms  of  civiliza- 
tion, and  by  dividing  tongues  and  more  dividing  ages.  Yet, 
withal,  these  books  could  not  have  been  more  thoroughly  one 
in  their  general  plan  and  method  of  thought  if  they  had  been 
composed  by  a  single  person  in  a  single  year  of  his  life.  This 
oneness  of  plan  is  not  limited  to  historical  statements,  but 
extends  to  revelations  from  the  spiritual  world  which  are 
beyond  the  reach  of  human  discovery  or  intuition,  and  upon 
which  the  imagination  and  reason  of  all  other  authors  have 
run  into  confusion.  More  than  this,  with  the  harmony  there 
exists  a  progress  in  the  unfolding  of  divine  truth.  The  sacred 
writers  begin  by  revealing  one  God,  and  gradually  ascend  to 
the  mystery  of  Three  in  One  ;  they  begin  with  a  lamb  slain  at 
the  first  altar,  and  rise  to  the  God-man  slain  for  sin,  and  thence 
to  the  Lamb  slain  enthroned  in  glory.  No  error,  no  discrep- 
ancy, mars  the  record.  The  words  of  Moses,  the  first  of  the 
sacred  writers,  agree  with  the  words  of  John,  the  last  of  them 
all.      The  theophanic  manifestations  granted  to  a  Chaldaean 


4  SACRED  HISTORY. 

shepherd  find  their  counterparts  in  the  apocalyptic  visions 
disclosed  to  the  survivor  of  the  twelve  apostles.  These  docu- 
ments, whether  prepared  in  the  wilderness  of  Sinai,  or  in  the 
courts  of  the  Jewish  temple,  or  in  the  schools  of  the  prophets, 
or  by  the  River  Chebar,  or  by  the  River  Euphrates,  or  in  the 
idolatrous  cities  of  the  Roman  Empire,  —  all  go  to  make  up 
one  composition,  in  which  part  answers  to  part,  and  every  word 
of  truth  to  every  other  word  of  truth  inscribed  upon  its  pages. 
The  sum  of  the  matter  is  briefly  this :  The  plan  of  redemption 
was  fore-ordained  to  be  gradually  disclosed  through  the  period 
of  four  thousand  years ;  and  the  record  follows  the  disclosure 
in  a  consecutive  and  progressive  narrative,  —  one  testimony, 
one  religion,  one  Mediator  between  God  and  man.  Given  in 
sundry  times  and  divers  places,  by  many  men,  in  many  ages 
and  many  tongues ;  yet  one  book,  only  one.  The  unity  of  its 
contents  points  to  their  origin  in  one  far-seeing  intelligence,  — 
a  great  First  Cause,  having  his  dwelling-place  in  all  genera- 
tions, and  ordaining  a  law  of  revelation  which  advances  ever 
with  a  motion  unresting,  unhasting,  like  the  motion  of  the 
heavenly  bodies.  That  First  Cause  is  the  Almighty,  and  the 
law  which  controls  the  revelation  is  Divine  inspiration.  Fur- 
thermore, the  doctrine  of  inspiration  involves  the  mingling  of 
the  Divine  with  the  human  in  the  record.  Thoughts  and  truths 
revealed  by  the  infinite  God  are  clothed  in  human  language. 
The  Bible  is  an  inspired  record,  in  Hebrew  and  Greek,  of  a 
Divine  revelation.  A  marked  peculiarity  of  biblical  laiiguage, 
proceeding  from  its  Divine-human  character,  is  called  anthropo- 
morphism. 

Anthropomorphism  is  the  representation  of  the  Deit}^  under 
the  human  form,  and  with  human  attributes  and  affections. 
The  Bible  speaks  of  God's  hands,  and  feet,  and  mouth,  and 
nostrils,  and  eyes,  and  ears.  He  is  said  to  love,  to  hate,  to  be 
angry,  to  be  pleased,  or  to  repent  over  what  he  had  done. 
Kalisch  points  out  eight  examples  of  this  metaphor  in  the 
history  of  the  creation.  God  moves  upon  the  face  of  the 
waters  ;  he  speaks,  examines,  sees,  breathes,  gives  names, 
approves    of    his  works,   deliberates   with  himself,   and  rests 


ANTHROPOMORPHISM.  5 

from  his  works.  These  representations  root  themselves  in  the 
likeness  to  God  in  which  man  was  made.  If  we  are  like  God, 
he  is  like  us.  We  are  helped  to  a  knowledge  of  God  by 
looking  closely  into  our  own  rational  and  spiritual  nature,  and 
using  that  as  a  reflection,  though  imperfect,  of  the  Divine 
attribute!^.  And,  lest  we  should  ascribe  our  own  limitations  to 
God,  we  are  taught  to  correct  the  conclusions  drawn  from  the 
knowledge  of  human  nature,  by  a  study  of  the  character  of 
Christ,  who  was  the  brightness  of  God's  glory.  Accepting 
what  we  see  in  ourselves  as  an  imperfect,  but  real,  image  of 
God,  and  what  we  read  of  Christ,  the  express  image  of  his 
person,  we  are  at  liberty  to  say  that  God  thinks  and  acts  and 
judges,  that  he  sees  and  pities,  that  he  is  angry  and  appeased. 
One  step  farther  finishes  the  explanation.  When  the  Bible 
speaks  of  God's  hands  and  feet,  of  his  eyes  and  ears,  the 
intimation  is  that  he  does,  in  his  own  inscrutable  way,  what 
we  do  with  the  help  of  our  bodily  members.  When  the  Bible 
says  that  God  is  angry  with  the  wicked,  that  he  loves  his 
children,  that  he  repented  that  he  had  made  man,  it  is 
intimated  that  he  does,  after  his  own  inscrutable  way,  what 
we  do  after  our  modes  of  thought  and  affection.  If  it  be  urged 
that  anthropomorphism  leads  us  to  make  God,  after  the  manner 
of  paganism,  altogether  such  a  one  as  ourselves,  a  being  Avith 
human  limitations  and  passions,  the  first  reply  is,  that,  in  point 
of  fact,  anthropomorphism  does  not  produce  that  effect  upon 
any  enlightened  understanding  ;  and  the  further  reply  is,  that 
we  must  choose  between  that  method  of  thought,  and  utter 
ignorance  of  God.  Jacobi  well  says,  "  We  confess,  therefore, 
to  an  anthropomorphism  inseparable  from  the  conviction  that 
man  bears  the  image  of  God  ;  and  maintain,  that  besides  this 
anthropomorphism,  which  has  always  been  called  theism,  is 
nothing  but  atheism  and  fetichism.^  But  the  mingling  of  the 
Divine  with  the  human  is  not  confined  to  the  phenomenal  and 
anthropomorphic  representations  of  Scripture.  It  passes  over 
into  its  general  contents,  appearing  constantly  in  the  inseparable 
relation  of  the  history  of  redemption  to  human  affairs. 
1  Hodge:  Systematic  Theol.,  i.  339-345. 


6  SACRED  HISTORY. 

The  religion  of  the  Bible  is  historic  ;  its  home  is  on  the 
surface  of  the  earth ;  its  dwelling-place  is  with  the  children  of 
men.  Considered  as  a  system  of  religious  doctrine  and  worship, 
revealed  religion  has  a  history  not  less  real  than  Mohammedan- 
ism. The  Church,  considered  as  a  visible  society,  thoroughly 
organized  and  equipped  for  its  work,  has  a  history  not  less 
distinct  and  characteristic  than  that  of  Rome.  None  of  its 
temples  are  built  in  the  clouds  ;  none  of  its  battles  are  fought 
in  the  air.  In  this  respect,  revealed  religion  is  distinguished 
from  the  speculative  systems  of  the  heathen  world,  ancient  and 
modern.  Dean  Stanley  remarks  that  Christianity  "  alone,  of  all 
religions,  claims  to  be  founded,  not  on  fancy  or  feeling,  but  on 
fact  and  truth." 

The  points  of  contact  between  sacred  and  secular  history  are 
practically  innumerable.  The  progress  of  redemption  is  insep- 
arably associated  with  the  progress  of  all  the  great  kingdoms  of 
antiquity,  —  with  Egypt  and  Ethiopia,  in  Africa ;  with  Arabia, 
Phoenicia,  Syria,  Assyria,  Babylon,  and  Medo-Persia,  in  Asia ; 
and,  in  Europe,  with  Macedonia,  with  Rome  under  the  empire, 
and  with  Greece.  The  record  introduces  to  our  attention  nine 
seas,  —  the  Mediterranean,  the  Red  Sea,  the  Dead  Sea,  the  Indian 
Ocean,  the  ^gean,  the  Sea  of  Tiberias,  the  Adriatic,  the  Archi- 
pelago. Mention  is  made  of  the  islands  Cyprus,  Crete,  Patmos, 
Melita,  and  Sicily ;  and  of  the  rivers  the  Nile,  Jordan,  Tigris, 
and  Euphrates  ;  and  of  the  mountain  ranges  Ararat  and 
Lebanon.  Great  Cities  take  their  places  in  the  story :  Rameses, 
Damascus,  Gaza,  Jerusalem,  Nineveh,  Babylon,  Tyre,  Rome, 
Corinth,  Athens,  Philippi,  Alexandria,  Thessalonica,  Antioch, 
and  Ephesus.  Famous  heathen  kings  also  figure  in  the  narra- 
tive :  Chedorlaomer,  Abimelech,  several  of  the  Pharaohs,  Og, 
Sihon,  Balak,  Rezin,  Shalmaneser,  Tiglath-pileser,  Sennacherib, 
Nebuchadnezzar,  Belshazzar,  Cyrus,  Ahasuerus,  Tiberius,  and 
the  Herods.  The  mass  of  historical  material  within  the  reach 
of  the  sacred  writers  was  simply  enormous. 

Their  skill  in  the  selection  and  arrangement  of  these  materi- 
als is  one  of  the  conspicuous  signs  of  theil'  Divine  inspiration. 
They  never  hesitate  to  use  any  secular  matter  needful  to  make 


INSPIEED   USE  OF  HUMAN  EVENTS.  7 

plain  the  progress  of  redemption.  They  deal  freely  with  the 
customs,  laws,  and  idolatries  of  the  heathen ;  with  their  kings 
and  priests  and  people  ;  with  their  social,  political,  and  religious 
institutions.  And  yet  only  an  infinitesimal  percentage  of  human 
thought  and  history  is  admitted  to  their  pages.  Momentous 
events,  which  changed  the  face  of  the  world,  are  mentioned  at 
large  if  they  fall  within  the  plan  of  the  narrative,  or  are  omitted 
if  irrelevant.  The  overthrow  of  Samaria  by  Assyria,  the 
destruction  of  Jerusalem  by  Babylon,  and  the  capture  of 
Babylon  by  the  Persian  king,  are  described  in  the  Old  Testa- 
ment, because  these  were  decisive  events  in  the  history  of  the 
Jewish  Church  ;  but  the  siege  of  Jerusalem  by  Titus,  being 
without  significance  to  Christianity,  is  not  mentioned  in  the 
New  Testament,  except  in  the  prophetic  warnings  given  by 
Christ.  Further,  the  prophets  and  apostles  were  enabled  to 
prepare  unerring  statements  of  the  facts  selected,  to  abridge 
the  story  without  impairing  its  value,  to  construct  an  unimpas- 
sioned  and  colorless  narrative,  to  define  the  relation  of  secular 
affairs  to  the  truths  suj)ernaturally  revealed  ;  to  show  how  the 
sum  of  men's  crimes  and  virtues,  knowledge  and  ignorance, 
apostasies  and  reformations,  were  associated  with  the  mighty 
works  of  Providence  and  grace ;  and  to  fuse  down  the  whole 
matter  into  the  self-consistent  and  progressive  history  of 
redemption.  Nor  is  this  the  only  sign  of  the  inspiration 
of  the  Scriptures. 

Their  method  of  dealing  with  all  that  ever  can  be  known  to 
the  end  of  the  world,  in  the  various  departments  of  human 
learning,  discloses  the  unerring  foresight  and  wisdom  which 
belong  exclusively  to  God.  The  case  may  be  conveniently 
set  out  in  a  series  of  propositions .  suggested  by  a  remark  of 
Lord  Bacon  :  "  The  Scriptures  were  written  to  the  thoughts 
of  men,  and  to  the  succession  of  all  ages,  with  a  foresight  of 
heresies,  contradictions,  differing  estates  of  the  Church,  yea,  and 
particularly  of  the  elect." 

1.  Every  page  of  Scripture  is  fully  abreast  with  the  sound 
knowledge  of  the  day  and  tlie  place  in  which  it  was  composed. 
No  mistake  or  anachronism  has  been  detected  in  wliat  is  said. 


8  SACBED  HISTORY. 

ill  the  "written  word,  of  the  arts  and  sciences  known  to  the 
world  before  the  Flood,  or  those  known  to  Egypt  and  Assyria 
in  the  days  of  Abraham  or  Moses  ;  or  known  to  Canaan  in  the 
reign  of  David  and  Solomon,  and  in  the  prophetic  era  ;  or 
known  to  Chaldsea  during  the  exile,  or  to  Rome  in  the  age  of 
Christ  and  his  apostles. 

2.  The  Scriptures  are  composed  with  an  absolute,  though 
silent,  foreknowledge  of  the  discoveries,  even  the  most  surpris- 
ing and  brilliant  of  them,  in  all  coming  generations,  and  in 
all  lands.  Hence  it  occurs,  that  not  only  are  they  abreast  of  all 
that  was  known  when  they  were  written,  but  they  are  in 
harmony  with  all  that  will  ever  be  disclosed. 

3.  While  the  sacred  record  is  instinct  with  this  Divine  pre- 
vision, it  does  not  go  before  scientific  investigation,  and  reveal 
its  findings  in  advance  of  their  discovery.  It  is  no  part  of  the 
Divine  purpose  to  tell  men  the  secrets  of  nature  which  they  are 
able  to  find  out  for  themselves.  The  introduction,  moreover, 
into  the  Bible,  of  a  perfected  astronomy,  geology,  chemistry,  and 
kindred  sciences,  would  have  swelled  the  Bible  to  the  dimen- 
sions of  an  encyclopaedia.  It  would  have  been  impossible  to 
thresh  out  of  this  ponderous  mass,  the  golden  particles  of 
Divine  truth  -which  now  illuminate  every  line  of  the  word  of 
God.  Let  it  be  imagined,  moreover,  that  Moses  had  been  moved 
by  the  Holy  Ghost  to  describe,  in  Genesis,  the  solar  system  as 
seen  from  the  sun.  The  doctrine  would  have  been  unintelli- 
gible to  the  great  mass  of  his  countrymen.  It  would  also  have 
been  treated  as  a  preposterous  speculation  during  all  the 
centuries  which  went  before  the  establishment  of  the  Coper- 
nican  system.  Instead  of  doing  that,  he  was  led  by  the  Spirit 
to  represent  the  movements,  of  the  heavenly  bodies  according  to 
their  phenomena,  and  yet  to  construct  the  record  so  that  it 
should  be  in  harmony  with  the  reality  of  things. 

4.  Popular  superstitions  and  blunders  receive  no  countenance 
in  the  Bible.  No  place  is  given  to  the  notion  that  earthquakes, 
comets,  meteors,  and  eclipses  are  the  products  of  direct  super- 
natural agency ;  to  the  powers,  that  is  to  say,  which  were  sup- 
posed to  inhabit  the  forests,  hills,  and  air.    Demonology,  sorcery, 


SACKED    WRITERS  FALLIBLE  AND  INFALLIBLE.  9 

astrology,  and  necromancy,  though  rooted  in  the  minds  of  men, 
are  not  mentioned  in  the  Bible,  except  with  reprobation.  It  is 
a  clean,  square  record  of  the  actual  phenomena  of  the  creation 
as  God  has  ordained. 

There  is  not  the  least  reason  to  suppose  that  the  sacred 
writers  were  better  informed  than  their  contemporaries  in 
human  knowledges.  Their  special  and  only  office  was  the 
communication  of  religious  truth.  For  that  purpose  they  were 
inspired  of  God,  and  for  no  other.  In  their  daily  thoughts, 
language,  and  modes  of  expression,  they  were  not  distinguished 
above  their  neighbors.  They  were  infallible  in  Divine  truth ; 
but  they  were  fallible,  like  other  men,  in  all  questions  of  science 
and  history,  except  in  so  far  as  a  better  knowledge  was  neces- 
sary to  the  communication  of  religious  truth.  To  allege  that 
they  shared  fully  in  the  ignorance  of  their  day,  and  accepted 
as  true  contemporary  superstitions,  is  no  impeachment  of 
the  truth  of  what  they  sj)oke  as  they  were  moved  by  the 
Holy  Ghost.  Indeed,  the  more  notorious  their  ignorance  of 
current  learning,  the  more  their  minds  were  perverted  by 
popular  errors,  the  more  remarkable  is  the  inspiration  which 
prevented  them  from  declaring  as  historically  and  scientifically 
true  what  is  historically  and  scientifically  false.  Moses  was 
learned  in  all  the  wisdom  of  the  Egyptians :  what  withheld 
him  from  adopting  into  the  Pentateuch,  Manetho's  scheme  of 
chronology  reaching  back  thirty  thousand  years  anterior  to  the 
Christian  era  ?  David  was  doubtless  acquainted  with  the  spirit 
of  the  heathen  poetry  of  his  day,  but  it  is  impossible  to  detect 
a  trace  of  that  spirit  in  his  psalms.  The  harp  of  Isaiah  never 
vibrated  with  a  strain  taken  from  tlie  splendid  mythology  of 
the  heathen.  Daniel  was  wise  in  Chaldccan  lore  :  how  did  he 
escape,  as  a  sacred  writer,  from  lending  the  authority  of  inspira- 
tion to  the  monstrous  cogitations  of  the  Babylonians  ?  Paul 
was  educated  in  the  best  learning  of  his  time  :  why  do  we  find 
nothing  in  his  speeches  and  epistles  like  Tertullian's  ascription 
of  thought  and  feeling  to  plants  ;  nothing  like  Augustine's 
vehement  denial  of  the  existence  of  the  antipodes ;  nothing 
like  Ambrose's  opinion  that  the  sun  drew  up  water  to  cool  and 


10  SACRED  HISTORY. 

refresh  himself  in  his  extreme  heat?^  The  follies  and  false- 
hoods suppressed  by  the  sacred  writers,  as  well  as  the  truths 
revealed  by  them,  attest  their  inspiration. 

The  inerrancy  of  sacred  history  is  another  proof  of  its  plenary 
inspiration.  Hengstenberg,  a  celebrated  Egyptologist,  affirms 
that  what  is  related  in  the  Pentateuch  concerning  Egypt,  not 
only  agrees  with  the  accounts  of  Herodotus,  Diodorus,  and  other 
ancient  writers,  but  also  receives  remarkable  confirmation  from 
the  recent  discoveries  made  with  reference  to  Egypt.  The 
information  concerning  Egypt,  in  the  later  historical  books,  is 
strongly  confirmed  by  the  Egyptian  monuments,  especially  in 
what  things  they  disclose  respecting  the  Egyptian  kings  men- 
tioned in  Scripture,  such  as  Shishak  and  several  of  the  Pharaohs. 
It  is  well  known  that  the  ruins  of  Nineveh,  the  old  Assyrian 
capital,  have  furnished  the  strongest  support  to  the  truth  of 
biblical  history.  The  canonicity  of  the  Book  of  Esther  has 
been  vehemently  disputed,  but  Heeren  characterizes  the  book 
as  perfectly  trustworthy  in  regard  to  the  internal  arrangements 
of  the  Persian  court.  Baumgarten  has  shown  that  almost  every 
statement  which  the  Book  of  Esther  contains  may  be  verified 
from  the  scattered  accounts  of  ancient  writers  in  Persia.  Heng- 
stenberg adds  that  "■  all  modern  distinguished  historians,  as 
Niebuhr,  Schlosser,  Heeren,  and  Leo,  agree  in  this,  that  the 
Old-Testament  history  is  more  authentic,  even  in  that  which  it 
relates  concerning  other  nations,  than  the  most  reliable  native 
sources."  ^ 

No  other  book  in  existence  is  so  thickly  set  with  direct  or 
incidental  allusions  to  the  antiquities  of  the  older  nations.  The 
number  of  issues  which  it  tenders  to  its  adversaries  is  immense. 
It  contains  the  names  of  nearly  four  thousand  persons  and 
places  distributed  among  the  primitive  and  early  ages,  and  over 
the  surface  of  the  globe  as  known  to  the  ancients.^  Only  a 
small  proportion  of  these  persons  and  places  have  been  identi- 
fied.    But  wherever  a  cylinder  or  tablet  has  been  dug  up,  in 

1  Dr.  T.  V.  Moore:  Univ.  Lect.,  p.  291. 

2  Hengstenberg:  King,  of  God  in  Old  Test.,  1.  27-29, 

8  Scrii^ture  Names  and  Places  in  Webster's  Unab.  Diet. 


ACCURACY  OF  THE  BIBLE.  11 

all  the  lands  of  the  Bible,  from  Thebes  to  Mosul,  bearing  one 
of  these  perished  names,  and  whenever  the  site  of  a  buried  city 
has  been  discovered,  in  no  one  instance  —  not  one  —  has  the 
testimony  of  the  Scriptures  been  invalidated.  So  far  as  now 
known,  no  dead  man's  name  is  a  myth,  no  old  ruin  is  misplaced. 
And  the  thing  that  is  now  shall  be  hereafter.  "  Truth  shall 
spring  out  of  the  earth,  and  righteousness  shall  look  down  from 
heaven  "  (Ps.  Ixxxv.  11). 


12  8ACBED  HISTORY. 


CHAPTER     11. 

THE   CREATION. 

"  In"  the  beginning,  God.  created  the  heavens  and  the  earth." 
These  opening  words  of  Holy  Scripture  assume  that  there  is  a 
God,  and  one  God  only,  unbeginning  and  self-existent.  They 
teach  directly,  or  by  unavoidable  inference,  that  he  was  ante- 
mundane  and  supermundane,  for  by  him  all  things  in  the 
heavens  and  on  earth  were  created ;  that  he  is  a  free,  living, 
thinking,  willing,  personal  Being  ;  that  the  world  is  not  a  part 
of  the  substance  of  him  who  is  its  Creator ;  that  he  is  omnipo- 
tent ;  that  he  is  not  limited  by  time  or  space  ;  that  he  may  be 
known,  and  is  known  ;  and  that  his  eternal  power  and  Godhead, 
even  his  goodness,  wisdom,  power,  and  majesty,  are  plainly 
revealed  to  us  by  the  things  that  he  has  made  (Rom.  i.  20). 

The  Mosaic  cosmogony  teaches,  moreover,  that  matter  is  not 
self-existent  or  eternal  ;  it  had  a  beginning,  and  was  created. 
It  denies  that  God  builds  up  the  universe  as  the  life  of  an 
animal  builds  up  the  body  ;  it  denies  that  he  is  the  anima 
mundi,  the  inward  source  of  the  organism  and  force  of  the 
world ;  it  denies  that  the  earth  was  the  product  of  a  fortuitous 
collection  of  atoms,  or  that  it  was  derived,  not  from  the  will  of 
God,  but  from  his  essence,  or  that  it  was  the  result  of  an 
internal  or  external  necessity,  "as  though  God  needed  any 
thing."  "  God  created  the  heavens  and  the  earth  ;  "  they  were 
the  free  emanations  of  his  will,  and  the  spontaneous  works  of 
his  wisdom,  power,  and  love.  The  sacred  narrative  of  the 
creation  is  in  the  nature  of  a  protest  against  the  modern 
doctrine  of  monistic  or  agnostic  materialism,  which  begins  by 
affirming  that  matter  and  force  are  self-existent    and  eternal. 


TUE  MOSAIC  COSMOGONY.  13 

and  that  entity  was  automatically  evolved  from  non-entit}-, 
organism  from  inorganic  matter,  life  from  the  lifeless,  the 
vegetable  from  the  mineral,  the  sentient  animal  from  the  insen- 
sate vegetable  ;  and  that  the  free  will,  self-consciousness,  reason, 
and  conscience  of  the  man  were  derived  from  the  instinct  and 
intelligence  of  the, brute  beast,  —  a  theory  which  concludes 
with  the  dogma  that  there  is  no  place  for  God  in  the  universe, 
all  things  in  existence  being  sufficiently  accounted  for  on  the 
assumption  that  there  is  no  God.  Our  sacred  cosmogony 
stands  opposed,  also,  to  the  school  of  atheism  which  postulates 
the  existence  of  a  Creative  Will,  who  formed  the  original 
atoms,  and  endowed  them  with  the  promise  and  potency  of 
life  ;  these  atoms  having  been  unfolded  spontaneously,  through 
an  ascending  series  of  existences,  up  to  this  present  world, 
and  the  original  Creative  Will,  who  is  unknown  and  unknow- 
able, having  been  as  good  as  dead  since  he  formed  the  atoms. 
The  Book  of  Genesis  stands  opposed  to  these  and  all  other 
theories  which  come  short  of  the  idea  of  the  creation  and 
preservation  of  the  universe  by  one  self-existent  and  supreme 
Being,  who  created  and  preserves  the  heavens  and  the  earth  by 
the  word  of  his  power. 

In  the  sacred  narrative,  the  basis  is  laid  for  a  full  revelation 
of  the  mode  of  the  Divine  existence  in  three  Persons  and  one 
God.  Separate  mention  is  made  of  God,  of  the  Spirit,  moving 
upon  the  face  of  the  waters,  and  of  the  Word  which  God  spake. 

The  history  of  the  creation  is  so  constructed  as  to  discredit 
every  form  of  idolatry  from  Sabeism  to  fetichism.  The  heaven- 
ly bodies  are  not  ethereal  divinities  to  be  worshipped ;  they 
are  masses  of  dead  matter  serving  as  torches  to  give  light  to 
man  by  day  and  night,  and  as  chronometers  to  mark  off  for  us, 
mechanically  and  unconsciously,  days,  months,  and  seasons,  and 
3-ears.  Under  God's  creative  word,  the  air  and  seas  and  earth 
Avere  peopled  with  fish  and  fowl  and  beast ;  these  were  given 
to  man,  not  as  objects  of  worship,  but  as  natural  brute  beasts, 
subject  to  his  dominion  in  perpetual  subordination.  He  cannot 
worship  them  without  abjuring  his  own  lordship,  and  doing 
despite  to  his  Creator. 


14  SACRED  HISTORY. 

The  narrative  is  singularly  free  from  the  myths  and  supersti- 
tions which  are  interwoven  in  the  pagan  cosmogonies.  Some 
portions  of  the  true  story  may  be  found  in  the  recollections  of 
ancient  peoples  who  never  saw  the  sacred  record,  demonstrating 
the  primeval  unity  of  these  races  by  the  unity  of  their  tradi- 
tions. The  oldest  Chaldaic  and  Assyrian  tablets,  for  example, 
derive  the  present  order  of  the  universe  from  a  watery  chaos  ; 
they  distribute  the  works  of  creation  among  six  successive 
days  ;  they  describe  the  central  position  and  uses  of  the  lumina- 
ries, marking  the  seasons  and  measuring  the  time  ;  they  assign 
to  a  particular  day  the  creation  of  cattle  and  creeping  things  ; 
and  the  inscriptions  on  certain  fragments  of  broken  tablets 
begin,  apparently,  the  story  of  the  first  man  and  woman.  But 
with  the  particulars  wherein  the  heathen  and  Mosaic  cosmog- 
onies agree,  there  are  associated  impassable  differences.  Accord- 
ing to  the  Assyrian  legend,  our  planet  was,  at  the  very  first, 
created  out  of  pre-existent  matter ;  at  the  era  of  the  creation, 
none  of  the  gods  had  yet  been  born  ;  the  "  great  gods  "  Lahmu 
and  Lahamu,  male  and  female,  "  were  born  and  grew  up  ;  "  and 
from  them  proceeded,  by  natural  generation,  a  numerous  off- 
spring of  deities.  1  According  to  the  cosmogony  of  the  Japanese, 
while  the  earth  was  still  soft  like  mud,  or  like  oil  floating  on 
the  surface  of  the  water,  there  arose  out  of  the  mass  a  rush, 
called  ari,  from  which  sjDrang  the  land,  forming  God.^  Pindar, 
says,  "  One  race  of  gods  and  men,  from  one  mother  breathe  we 
all."  This  mother  is  Nature  or  the  Earth.  Still  another  cos- 
mology comes  to  us  from  the  Chaldssan.  The  "  All "  consisted 
of  darkness  and  water,  filled  with  monstrous  creatures,  and 
ruled  by  a  woman.  Bel  divided  the  darkness,  and  cut  the 
woman  into  two  halves,  of  which  he  formed  the  heaven  and 
earth ;  he  then  cut  off  his  own  head,  moistened  the  clay  with 
his  blood,  and  made  man  out  of  it.  In  the  myths  accej)ted 
by  many  of  the  older  nations,  the  world-egg  figured  largely. 
Aristophanes,  in  his  "  Comedy  of  Birds,"  as  translated  by  Tayler 
Lewis,  sets  forth  this  representation :  "  Chaos  was,  and  Night, 
and  Erebus  black,  and  Tartarus  wide.  No  earth,  nor  air  nor 
1  Geikie:  Hours,  etc.,  i.  29-33.        2  Encyc.  Brit.,  9th  ed.,  art.  Cosmogony. 


PAGAN  COSMOGONIES.  15 

sky  was  yet ;  when  in  the  immeasurable  bosom  o£  Erebus  "  (or 
the  chaotic  darkness)  "  winged  Night  brought  forth,  first  of 
all,  the  egg  from  which,  in  after  revolving  periods,  sprang  Eros, 
the  much  derived,  glittering  with  golden  wings,  and  Eros  again 
in  union  with  Chaos  produced  the  brood  of  the  human  race  and 
brought  it  first  to  light."  ^  Professor  Clifford  calls  attention  to 
the  legendary  "  gods  of  our  own  race,  Odni,  Valo,  and  Ve,  who 
walked  about  the  earth  until  they  found  two  trees,  one  of  which 
they  made  into  a  man  and  the  other  into  a  woman  ;  and  of 
Deucalion  and  Pyrrha,  who  threw  stones  over  their  heads, 
which  became  man  and  woman."  ^  The  theory  of  evolution  by 
natural  generation  is  exhibited  in  Smith's  "  Chaldaean  Genesis." 
He  entertains  his  readers  with  a  curious  genealogy  of  the  gods 
and  goddesses,  beginning  with  Tantu  the  Sea,  and  Abiu  the 
Abyss,  who  begat  Mummu,  that  is.  Chaos.  The  pedigree  pro- 
ceeds through  five  generations  to  the  sixth,  the  planets,  from 
which  again  spring  the  lower  gods.^  No  comparison  can  be 
instituted  between  the  Creator  of  the  heavens  and  the  earth,  in 
Moses,  and  the  creator  in  the  heathen  story  rising  out  of  an 
abyss  of  mud  and  water,  or  issuing  from  the  amours  of  gods  and 
goddesses :  these  representations  belong  to  separate  spheres  of 
thought.  Moses  did  not  gather  the  materials  for  his  cosmogony 
from  the  traditions  of  the  Semites,  and  give  them  a  coloring 
taken  from  the  religious  ideas  of  the  Jews,  after  the  manner  of 
Aristophanes,  who  compiled  a  cosmogony  for  the  Greeks  ■  from 
the  legends  current  among  his  countrymen.  Moses  composed 
an  authentic  history  of  the  creative  work  which  preceded  the 
existence  of  man.  He  received,  from  Divine  inspiration,  an 
exact  knowledge  of  the  work,  and  the  unerring  accuracy  by 
which  he  reduced  his  information  to  record.  The  traditions  of 
the  heathen  took  their  origin,  so  they  believed,  from  the  facts 
of  the  creation.  But  the  Mosaic  record  is  a  well  of  living 
waters  kept  sweet  and  pure  from  the  beginning;  while  the 
pagan  cosmogonies  are  turbid  streams  issuing  from  an  old 
fountain,  but   making  their  way  through  continents  of  mud, 

1  Six  Davs,  etc.,  p.  298.  2  Clifford:  Lect.  and  Essays,  vol.  i.  p.  318. 

8  Geikie:  Hours,  etc.,i.  p.  33. 


16  SACRED  HISTOEY. 

and  gathering  up  mire  and  slime  from  every  affluent  and  every 
shore. 

According  to  the  teachings  of  the  Scriptures,  the  glory  of 
God  in  the  manifestation  of  his  perfections  was  the  last  and 
highest  end  of  the  creation.  But  it  appears  not  less  clearly 
that  the  world,  as  its  subordinate  end,  was  made  for  man.  Let 
these  thoughts  be  weighed :  The  creation  rose  in  its  signifi- 
cancy,  step  by  step,  through  the  six  days,  in  an  ascending  series. 
Not  until  the  close  of  the  sixth  day  was  man  made,  and  God 
rested  from  all  his  works.  Again,  man  was  made  in  the  image 
and  likeness  of  God.  Dominion  over  every  living  thing  was 
conferred  upon  him ;  the  entire  planet  was  granted  to  him  for 
a  perpetual  inheritance,  with  command  to  multiply,  and  fill  the 
earth  and  subdue  it.  "  Man  was  doubl}^  blessed.  He  shared 
fruitfulness  with  the  fish  and  the  fowl,  dominion  was  peculiarly 
his  own."  Further,  six  times  in  the  progress  of  the  work,  God 
saw  that  what  he  had  ordained  was  good ;  but  when  man 
appeared,  God  saw  every  thing  that  he  had  made,  and  he  said, 
"  Behold,  very  good."  The  heavens  are  supplied  with  lumin- 
aries answering  directly  to  the  necessities  of  mankind.  The 
obliquity  of  the  ecliptic  secures  habitable  abodes  and  fruitful 
seasons  through  one  hundred  degrees,  divided  by  the  equator. 
The  waters  of  the  seas  yield  the  pure  breath  of  life  to  the 
continents ;  majestic  equatorial  currents  temper  the  higher 
latitudes,  and  polar  currents  the  lower.  The  seas  open  their 
paths  to  commerce;  and  the  bays  and  harbors  along  the  coast 
lines  invite  the  entrance  of  the  knowledge  of  the  Lord,  which 
goes  forth  to  fill  the  earth.  Stores  of  hidden  treasures  enrich 
the  crust  of  the  earth.  Iron,  the  staff  of  material  civilization, 
is  found  wherever  men  are  sufficiently  civilized  to  reduce  it  to 
their  uses.  The  precious  stones  and  metals  are  more  unequally 
but  sufficiently  distributed.  Marbles,  sandstones,  granites,  sand, 
lime,  chalk,  clay,  may  be  had  for  the  taking.  Furthermore,  the 
existence  of  petroleum  as  an  illuminating  and  lubricating  fluid, 
the  use  of  steam  as  a  motive-power,  and  of  electricity  as  a 
common  carrier  of  thought  and  speech  and  as  a  torch-bearer, 
were  practically  hidden  from  mankind  six  thousand  years,  until 


UNITY  OF  THE   CREATION.  17 

a  time  within  the  memory  of  the  living.  And  yet,  so  .soon  as 
these  new  agents  became  necessary  to  the  progress  of  Christian 
civilization,  rivers  of  oil  rose  out  of  the  deep  bosom  of  the 
earth,  steam  disclosed  its  immense  motive  forces,  and  electricity 
submitted,  though  with  a  certain  rebellious  obsequiousness,  to 
the  dominion  of  man.  Nor  is  this  all.  Life-preservers,  stowed 
away  in  the  hold  of  a  ship,  reveal  anticipations  of  perils  by  the 
sea.  In  like  manner  our  Father  in  heaven  was  pleased,  at  the 
creation,  to  deposit  in  minerals  and  plants  and  trees  remedies 
for  our  sicknesses  and  wounds.  Even  so,  also,  Christ  was  fore- 
ordained before  the  foundation  of  the  world  to  save  his  people 
from  their  sins. 

Natural  theology  supports  the  unity  of  the  Godhead,  by  the 
argument  that  all  the  phenomena  of  the  universe  are  sufficiently 
accounted  for  by  the  efficiency  of  one  God,  —  only  one.  The 
significancy  of  the  facts  is  exhausted  in  that  conclusion ; 
leaving  nothing  unaccounted  for,  on  which  to  rest  the  idea  of  a 
co-Creator.  Another  argument  to  the  same  purpose  is  derived 
from  the  unity  of  nature.  The  story  of  the  creation  discloses 
an  orderly  series  of  successive  and  harmonious  operations.  The 
work  of  each  day,  after  the  first,  presupposes  and  is  built  upon 
the  work  of  some  preceding  day ;  and  the  work  of  each  day, 
except  the  last,  anticipates  the  work  of  some  following  day. 
So  obvious  is  the  unity  of  the  plan,  and  its  perfect  execution, 
that  Professor  Dana  discovers  in  the  Scripture  cosmogony  an 
"  arrangement  and  a  far-reaching  prophecy  to  which  philosophy 
could  not  have  attained,  however  instructed."  ^  He  reduced 
this  prophetic  element  to  a  tabular  view  of  the  creation,  divid- 
ing the  work  of  the  six  days  into  halves,  thus :  — 

THE    FIRST    HALF.  THE    SECOND   HALF. 

Day  1.  Light  created.  Day  4.  The  luminaries  appear. 

Day  2.  Firmament  dividing  the  waters.    Day  5.  Air  and  waters  peopled. 
Day  3.  Dry  land  appeared.  Day  6.  Animals  and  man  created. 

The  work  of  the  first,  second,  and  third  days  were  prophetic 
of  the  fourth,  fifth,  and  sixth,  each  to   each.     The   prophecy 

1  Dana:  Geol.,  p.  745. 


18  SACRED  HISTOBY. 

which  lay  in  the  successive  fiats  shows  the  unity  of  plan  in  the 
order  of  creation. 

If  we  turn  from  the  Mosaic  history  of  the  creation  to  the 
discoveries  of  science,  our  sense  of  the  unity  of  nature  is 
strengthened.  The  use  of  the  spectroscope  has  discovered  in 
the  sun  and  the  fixed  stars,  so  far  as  the  fixed  stars  have  been 
explored,  the  mineral  substances  which  enter  into  the  compo- 
sition of  the  earth,  —  hydrogen,  antimony,  magnesium,  iron, 
tellurium,  alumina,  calcium,  bismuth,  and  mercury,  —  the  most 
of  these  in  all.^  The  chemical  elements  found  in  the  human 
body  are  the  four  principal  gases,  with  lime,  potash,  iron,  sodium, 
and  phosphorus.  The  Duke  of  Argyle  remarks,  that  "  the 
same  general  composition,  with  here  and  there  an  ingredient 
less  or  more,  prevails  throughout  the  whole  animal  and  vegeta- 
ble world,"  and  "  the  same  elementary  substances  are  common 
to  man."  By  virtue  of  this  sameness  of  composition,  the  air 
we  breathe  and  the  animal  and  vegetable  food  which  we  eat 
minister  to  our  support.^  Still  further,  the  brain,  enclosed  in 
a  bony  case,  is  common  to  all  vertebrate  animals  ;  and  the 
organs  of  sense  in  them  all  are  massed  around  the  brain.  We 
should  take  into  account,  also,  the  similarity  in  all  these  ani- 
mals, of  the  digestive  function ;  the  presence  of  the  bi-sexual 
principle,  both  in  the  animal  and  largely  in  the  vegetable  king- 
dom; and  the  presence  of  the  mysterious  principle  of  life  in 
both. 

The  completion  of  the  creative  work  is  announced  with  a 
certain  copiousness  of  diction.  "  Thus  the  heavens  and  the 
earth  were  finished,  and  all  the  hosts  of  them."  "And  on  the 
seventh  day  God  ended  his  work  which  he  had  made."  "  And 
God  blessed  the  seventh  day,  and  sanctified  it :  because  that  in 
it  he  had  rested  from  all  the  work  that  he  had  made  "  (Gen.  ii. 
1-3).  Now  the  creation,  as  a  finished  work,  proclaims  the 
inviolability  of  what  we  call  the  laws  of  nature.  This  must 
be  so,  for  the  laws  were  impressed  upon  the  creation  at  the 
beginning,  and  were,  therefore,  an  essential  part  of  the  finished 
creation  itself.     The  revolutions  of  the  heavenly  bodies  remain 

I  Eacyc.  Brit.,  9tb  ed.,  vol.  ii.  p.  818.         2  Argyle  •  Unity  of  Nature,  chap.  ii. 


TUB   ''CONFLICT  LITERATURE:'  19 

as  they  were.  The  astronomer  can  calculate  eclipses  and 
obscurations  with  mathematical  accuracy,  backward  to  the  crea- 
tion, and  forward  to  the  end  of  the  world.  The  chronometer 
of  the  heavens  has  not  gained  or  lost  a  second  of  time  since  it 
began  to  move.  The  obliquity  of  the  ecliptic,  and  with  it  the 
times  and  seasons,  are  true  to  their  appointments.  In  like 
manner  we  observe  the  inviolability  of  the  laws  of  the  animal 
and  vegetable  kingdoms,  and  of  the  forces  of  nature,  such  as 
light,  heat,  electricity,  and  motion.  Here  we  come  upon  a  large 
part  of  our  inheritance  on  earth.  All  scientific  investigation 
presupposes  the  immutability  of  nature's  laws.  The  progress 
of  discovery,  never  more  rapid  and  brilliant  than  now,  depends 
upon  the  same  principle.  The  doctrine  of  the  miracles  recorded 
in  Scripture  is  grounded  in  its  truth. 

The  Mosaic  account  of  the  creation  has  given  rise  to  what 
has  been  called  a  "  conflict  literature."  It  is  asserted  that  the 
cosmogony  in  the  Book  of  Genesis  is  sharply  antagonized  by 
modern  science,  especially  by  astronomy  and  geology.  On  the 
other  hand,  it  is  confidently  affirmed  that  the  teachings  of 
science,  to  the  full  extent  in  which  they  are  true,  coincide  with 
the  teachings  of  the  Bible.  Three  methods  of  treating  this 
problem  have  been  proposed.  It  is  suggested,  first,  that  facts, 
well  established  by  natural  science,  distinctly  contradict  the 
Mosaic  account  of  the  creation ;  hence  the  facts  must  be 
accepted,  and  Moses  must  be  repudiated.  This  is  the  thought 
of  vulgar  unbelief.  Secondly,  science  and  the  Bible  cannot 
be  reconciled ;  but  the  testimony  of  both  is  to  be  accepted,  the 
science  being  true  to  the  reason,  and  the  Bible  true  to  the 
Christian  faith ;  and,  inasmuch  as  reason  and  faith  belong  to 
different  spheres  of  intelligence,  the  contradiction  ought  not 
to  disturb  anybody's  peace  of  mind.  This  is  the  theory  of 
Wagner.  It  proposes  a  distinction  between  reason  and  faith 
wliich  has  no  foundation  in  the  nature  of  either.  "Faith," 
says  Arnold,  "  is  reason  resting  on  God."  Thirdly,  it  is  confi- 
dently asserted  that  the  findings  of  a  really  scientific  cosmology 
are  in  exact  accord  with  the  Bible  rightly  interpreted ;  that  is 
to  say,  the  works  of  God  in  creation  and  providence  are  in 


20  SACRED  HISTORY. 

harmony  with  his  inspired  word.  This  is  the  position  of  the 
Christian  philosopher.  In  a  manifesto  drawn  up  at  a  meeting 
of  the  British  Association  in  1865,  signed  by  over  six  hundred 
gentlemen,  many  of  them  eminent  for  scientific  attainments, 
they  declare  that  "it  is  impossible  for  the  word  of  God  as 
written  in  the  book  of  nature,  and  God's  word  written  in  Holy 
Scripture,  to  contradict  one  another,  however  much  they  may 
appear  to  differ." 

A  survey  of  the  common  ground  occupied  by  natural  science 
and  Christian  philosoj)hy,  and  a  review  of  the  controversies 
which  have  arisen,  lead  to  the  expectation  that  these  results 
will  continually  occur :  First,  apparent  inconsistencies  between 
nature  and  revelation  will  be  sufficiently  reconciled.  Next, 
certain  accepted  solutions  of  out-standing  problems  will  be 
abandoned  for  solutions  that  rest  upon  a  surer  basis.  And, 
further,  new  questions  demanding  attention  will  emerge  from 
progressive  knowledge  and  discovery.  The  end  of  the  contro- 
versy is  not  in  sight. 

An  examination,  moreover,  of  this  literature  will  show  that 
much  confusion  of  thought  has  arisen  from  the  misuse  of  terms. 
For  example,  it  ought  not  to  be  said  that  there  is  a  conflict 
pending  between  science  and  the  Bible.  Taking  the  word 
science  in  the  sense  of  an  unerring  scientia,  or  knowledge  of 
God's  works,  and  then  taking  the  Bible  in  its  exact  meaning, 
there  neither  is  nor  can  be  any  disagreement  between  them. 
The  works  of  God,  and  his  word,  must,  by  an  invincible  neces- 
sity, be  at  one.  The  contention  is  either  personal  or  dogmatic. 
The  personal  debate  is  among  disputants  who,  though  profess- 
ing to  be  philosophers,  are  in  error  as  to  findings  of  science,  or 
who,  though  professing  to  understand,  do  yet  misunderstand 
the  Scriptures.  In  the  conflict  between  dogmas,  the  antago- 
nism lies  between  results  of  imperfect  observation  and  experi- 
ence on  the  one  hand,  and  unsound  interpretations  of  the 
Scriptures  on  the  other.  We  do  great  injustice  to  the  cause  of 
truth,  both  scientific  and  religious,  when  we  admit  that  a  true 
knowledge  of  God's  works  is  at  war  with  a  true  knowledge  of 
his  word.     Indeed,  all  these  disputations  arise  from  blunders  in 


DIFFICULTIES  CLASSIFIED.  21 

science,  or  from  ignorance  of  the  Scriptures,  or  from  spiritual 
blindness. 

In  considering  the  difficulties  which  are  supposed  to  embarrass 
the  Mosaic  account  of  the  creation,  it  will  be  convenient  to 
distribute  them  into  classes,  which  shall  be  distinct  and  shall 
exhaust  the  subject.  The  first  class  embraces  all  those  ques- 
tions in  which  the  meaning  of  God's  word  is  fully  ascertained, 
and  the  opposing  sciences  are  immature.  Of  this  class,  the 
unity  in  origin  and  species  of  the  human  race  is  a  fair  example. 
Nobody  denies  that  according  to  the  Book  of  Genesis  all  man- 
kind, without  doubt  and  exception,  descended  from  one  man 
and  one  woman.  But  Moses  goes  farther.  As  if  to  exclude 
the  suggestion  that  the  first  man  and  woman  may  have 
belonged  to  different  families,  he  is  careful  to  inform  us  that 
the  woman  was  taken  from  the  body  of  the  man,  so  that,  in  a 
sense  most  strict  and  unique,  the  ultimate  truth  is  that  the 
whole  human  race  proceeded  from  a  single  ancestor.  Paul 
responds  to  Moses.  He  declares  that  "  God  hath  made  of  one 
blood  all  nations  of  men,  for  to  dwell  on  all  the  face  of  the 
earth"  (Acts  xvii.  26).  He  shows,  also,  that  the  doctrine  of 
the  apostasy  of  the  human  family  in  one  man,  Adam,  and  our 
redemption  by  one  other  man,  Jesus  Christ,  rests  upon  the  basis 
of  the  unity  of  the  race  (1  Cor.  xv.  21,  22;  Rom.  v.  19).  No 
ingenuity  can  extort  from  the  Bible  any  testimony  other  than 
this. 

Comparative  philology  is  relied  on  to  break  the  force  of  this 
declaration.  The  number  of  languages  and  dialects,  living  and 
dead,  known  to  mankind,  is  estimated  at  one  thousand.  The 
contention  is  that  the  countless  diversities  of  these  tongues 
prove  the  plural  origin  of  the  races.  But  it  is  to  be  observed 
that  philology  is  in  its  infancy,  —  it  was  born  among  the  last 
of  the  sciences,  —  and  is  therefore  incomplete.  It  has  not  fully 
mastered  the  Japanese,  or  the  Chinese,  or  the  Hindustani 
tongues  in  their  many  dialects.  Of  the  languages  spoken  in 
Central  Asia,  it  knows  but  little ;  of  those  spoken  by  the  vast 
tribes  in  Central  Africa,  and  by  the  aborigines  of  North  and 
South  America,  next  to  nothing.      And   these   peoples   taken 


22  SACRED  UI STORY. 

together  make  up  more  than  half  of  the  human  race.  The 
Christian  schohar  with  these  considerations  before  him  will 
adhere  to  the  Bible,  which  affirms  the  primeval  unity  of  man- 
kind ;  not  doubting  that  when  philology  shall  understand  itself, 
its  conclusions  will  coincide  with  those  of  the  Divine  Word. 
We  are  strengthened  in  this  position  by  the  findings  of  modern 
ethnology.  The  Encyclopaedia  Britannica  in  alluding  to  a 
theory  of  Renan  remarks-,  "  This  theory  which  presuj)poses  the 
plurality  of  races  may  be  very  acceptable  to  the  philologists, 
but  it  is  one  with  which  most  ethnologists  do  not  agree.  Where 
philologists  see  a  difference  in  nature,  ethnologists  see  rather  a 
difference  in  degree."  ^  Physiology  and  pathology,  also,  call 
attention  to  the  sameness  of  all  the  members  of  the  human 
family  in  the  anatomical  structure  and  normal  temperature  of 
the  body ;  in  the  average  rate  of  pulsation  and  inspiration ;  in 
passion,  instinct,  and  appetite ;  in  the  period  of  pregnancy ;  in 
the  nature,  life-history,  and  cure  of  diseases ;  and  in  the  per- 
sistent fruitfulness  of  marriage  between  the  most  incongruous 
people.  Above  all,  human  beings  everywhere  are  in  possession 
of  a  free  will  and  conscience,  and  are  the  subjects  of  native 
depravity  and  religious  susceptibility.  The  gospel  of  Christ  is 
the  power  of  God  alike  to  the  European,  the  Malay,  and  the 
Eskimo.  Let  us  believe  that  a  mature  philology  will  be  dis- 
tinguished by  its  harmony  with  the  word  of  God. 

The  second  class  of  these  apparent  contradictions  embraces 
those  problems  in  which  natural  science  is  mature,  and  the 
Bible  is  not  understood.  For  example,  according  to  the  first 
chapter  of  Genesis,  the  firmament  is  a  solid  expanse ;  our  globe 
is  the  centre  of  the  universe,  the  sun  and  moon  and  stars  are 
the  earth's  satellites.  Similar  language  occurs  throughout  the 
Bible.  "The  sun  rejoices  as  a  strong  man  to  run  a  race." 
"  The  sun  also  ariseth  and  goeth  down."  "  The  earth  is  estab- 
lished  that  it  cannot  be  moved."  For  more  than  thirtj^-five 
hundred  years  these  representations  were  accepted  as  literally 
true.  At  the  discovery  of  the  Copernican  sj^stem,  faith  was 
severely  staggered.     But  in  due  time  it  was  observed  that  a 

1  Encyc.  Brit.,  9th  ed.,  vol.  viii.  p.  622. 


THE  BEAL  AND    THE  PHENOMENAL.  23 

sound  distinction  exists  between  what  is  true  to  the  appearance, 
and  what  is  true  astronomically.  That  the  earth  is  at  rest,  that 
the  sun  revolves  every  day  around  the  earth,  moving  from  east 
to  west,  is  not  less  true  to  the  appearance  of  things,  than  the 
doctrine  that  the  earth  revolves  yearly  around  the  sun,  and 
daily  on  its  own  axis  from  west  to  east,  is  true  to  ascertained 
science.  This  is  the  language  of  common  life.  Every  rational 
man  talks  about  the  rising  and  setting  sun,  about  the  sun  cross- 
ing the  meridian  and  sinking  below  the  horizon,  and  he  will  do 
so  to  the  end.  Further,  the  philosophers  themselves,  however 
hostile  to  revelation,  and  however  fastidious  in  the  use  of  terms, 
habitually  speak  of  the  sky  as  a  concave  vault,  of  the  path  of 
the  sun,  and  of  its  right  ascension  and  declination.  In  solving 
this  question  by  the  aid  of  the  distinction  between  the  real  and 
the  phenomenal,  we  follow  common  sense ;  we  do  not  strain  the 
language  of  Scripture  in  order  to  bring  it  into  harmony  with 
science,  nor  do  we  resort  to  interpretations  of  the  holy  word 
other  than  such  as  we  might  adopt  if  the  problem  had  never 
arisen.  The  Bible  and  the  science  being  understood,  they  are 
seen  to  be  at  one. 

We  now  come  upon  the  third  class  of  the  questions  at  issue, 
and  this  class  with  the  other  two  exhausts  the  subject.  Here 
the  findings  of  science  are  incomplete,  and  the  proper  explana- 
tion of  the  Bible  is  not  yet  reached.  The  biblical  account  of 
the  creation  raises  certain  important  problems  of  this  descrip- 
tion in  astronomy  and  geology.  The  astronomers  propound 
such  inquiries  as  these :  Was  the  light  of  the  first  day  solar,  or 
terrestrial  ?  If  solar,  how  did  it  occur  that  the  sun  was  not 
"  made  "  until  the  fourth  day  ?  If  terrestrial,  how  were  the 
alternations  of  day  and  night  produced?  Did  not  the  earth 
begin  to  revolve  around  its  axis  and  in  its  orbit  until  the  fourth 
day?  According  to  the  computation  of  Herschel,  the  Milk}' 
Way  is  so  remote  from  the  earth,  that  the  light  of  its  suns  and 
stars  could  reach  us  only  after  a  journey  of  one  hundred  and 
twenty  thousand  years ;  and  the  rays  of  light  from  the  remotest 
nebula  must  have  been  almost  two  millions  of  years  on  their  way.^ 

1  Kalisoh  on  Gen.,  p.  30. 


24  SACRED  HISTORY. 

How  can  we  account  for  the  fact  that  they  were  all  visible 
at  the  creation  ? 

The  geologists  call  our  attention  to  the  fossil-bearing  rocks. 
These  are  said  to  be  from  seven  to  ten  miles  in  thickness, 
measured  from  the  surface  of  the  earth  downwards.  Among 
these  deposits  are  the  coals,  which  are  of  vegetable  origin.  The 
remains  of  animals  occur  also,  in  immense  quantities,  from  the 
skeletons  of  land  and  sea  monsters,  to  those  of  animalcules  so 
small  that  forty  thousand  are  accommodated  within  the  compass 
of  a  single  cubic  inch.  But  a  fact  which  is  full  of  significance 
is  that  no  traces  of  man,  either  of  his  person  or  his  works,  have 
been  discovered  in  the  fossiliferous  structures  which  are  older 
than  the  creation  of  Adam  and  Eve.  Professor  Virchow  of 
Berlin  is,  perhaps,  the  foremost  physiologist  and  biologist  of  the 
generation.  In  a  speech  at  the  centenary  of  the  University  of 
Edinburgh,  Virchow  said  "  that  he  had  been  specially  occupied 
for  twenty  years  in  making  prehistoric  investigations  to  get 
near  the  '  primitive  man  ; '  and  he  can  get  no  nearer  than  Adam. 
He  began  by  thinking  that  the  existence  of  a  predecessor  of 
man  was  a  possibility,  perhaps  a  probability.  But  no  pro- 
anthro^os  had  been  discovered,  7iot  even  a  fragment  of  Mm.'''  He 
had  studied  skulls  in  great  numbers,  and  says  emphatically: 
"  In  my  judgment,  no  skull  hitherto  discovered  can  be  regarded 
as  that  of  the  predecessor  of  man."  ^  Our  countryman  Edward 
Hitchcock  remarks,  "  The  remains  of  man  are  found  only  in 
alluvium,  the  most  recent  of  the  formations."  ^  These  eminent 
authorities  in  science  point  to  the  conclusion  that  man,  and 
with  him  the  present  creation,  is  of  comparatively  recent  origin. 

Astronomy  and  geology  open,  as  we  have  now  seen,  an 
important  debate.  In  the  treatment  of  these  problems  it  is 
to  be  observed,  that,  according  to  its  conditions,  the  physical 
sciences  are  immature,  and  the  word  of  God  in  regard  to  them 
is  not  fully  understood.  Astronomy  is  an  older  science  than 
geology,  and  its  main  doctrines  are  better  established.  And 
yet,  in  regard  to  the  manner  in  which  light  is  propagated,  the 

1  The  Presbyterian  (Philadelphia),  Sept.  10,  1884. 

2  Elementary  Geology,  ed.  1863,  p.  395. 


OPEN  QUESTIONS.  25 

astronomers  are  to  this  day  divided  as  to  the  rival  claims  of 
the  corpuscular  theory  or  the  motion  of  free  particles  of  light, 
and  the  undulatory  -theory,  the  doctrine  of  wave-propagation. 
And  many  of  their  propositions  in  regard  to  the  fixed  stars  rest, 
not  on  mathematical  proof,  but  upon  the  unverified  assumption 
"  that  every  thing  which  has  been  ascertained  as  to  the  nature 
and  motion  of  light  in  our  solar  system  must  be  equally  true 
of  the  fixed  stars."  ^ 

The  department  of  geology  which  deals  with  the  fossil- 
bearing  rocks  is  beset  with  uncertainties.  The  science  is  of 
recent  origin,  not  being  older  than  the  present  century.  The 
geologists  have  not  explored  the  crust  of  the  earth  below 
the  depth  of  eight  or  ten  miles,  reminding  one  of  an  orange 
of  which  the  rind  only  has  been  pierced.  According  to  Mr. 
Huxley,  "  only  about  the  ten-thousandth  part  of  the  accessible 
portions  of  the  earth  have  been  examined  properly;"  and 
"  three-fifths  of  this  surface  is  shut  out  from  us,  because  it  is 
under  the  sea."^  Moreover,  many  of  the  most  plausible  theories 
of  the  geologists,  and  many  of  the  phenomena,  are  in  dispute. 
On  the  other  hand,  the  biblical  scholars  are  not  agreed  in  their 
interpretations  of  certain  Hebrew  words  which  are  essential  to 
the  inquiry.  The  word  yom,  for  example,  translated  "  day  "  in 
the  first  chapter  of  Genesis,  is  taken,  by  some  of  our  best  Hebrew 
scholars,  for  a  literal  day  of  twenty-four  hours,  and  by  others 
equally  learned  for  an  unmeasured  period,  covering  perhaps 
thousands,  possibly  millions,  of  years.  Nor  have  the  Hebrew 
words  translated  "  to  create,"  "  to  form,"  or  "  to  make,"  been 
defined  to  the  entire  satisfaction  of  the  interpreters  of  the 
Bible.  In  the  problem  now  before  us,  the  prime  conditions  are 
unsettled ;  that  is  to  say,  the  sciences  are  immature,  and  the 
meaning  of  God's  word  is  not  settled  beyond  a  doubt. 

It  is  not  difficult  to  determine  the  attitude  which  we  should 
occupy  in  regard  to  this  unsolved  problem.  We  should  hold  to 
the  inerrancy  of  the  Scriptures  fairly  interpreted  ;  and  should 
assume  that  modern  science,  wherein  it  impeaches  the  Bible,  is 

1  Keil  aud  Delitzsch  on  the  Pent.,  i.  60. 

2  Huxley:  Origin  of  Species,  p.  38. 


26  SACRED  HISTOEY. 

incapable  of  verification.  And  we  should  confidently  maintain 
that  the  word  and  the  works  of  God  will  be  in  perfect  accord 
when  the  facts  are  all  in,  and  are  fairly  classified,  and  when  the 
word  of  God  is  made  plain.  But  in  the  present  unsettled  state 
of  the  sciences,  and  in  our  imperfect  knowledge  of  some  of  the 
Scriptures,  we  must  submit  to  a  suspension  of  judgment  as  to 
what  will  be  the  final  solution  of  the  problem.  We  need  not 
abide  in  that  state  of  suspense  without  some  relief.  It  is  proper 
to  seek  a  resting-place  for  the  mind  in  the  form  of  a  provisional 
solution  ;  an  explanation  ad  interim,  which  shall  appear  to  har- 
monize the  phenomena  in  astronomy  and  geolcgy,  so  far  as  they 
are  now  understood,  with  the  Word  of  God,  so  far  as  that  is 
understood.  The  analogy  is  found  in  the  working  hypothesis  of 
the  philosopher,  and  in  the  interlocutory  decree  and  temporary 
injunction  of  a  court  of  justice.  The  use  of  the  hypothesis  is 
to  help  the  philosopher  in  his  investigations.  The  use  of  the 
legal  proceeding  is  to  quiet  the  parties  for  the  time  being,  and 
save  all  their  rights  from  prejudice,  until  the  cause  can  be  fully 
heard  and  finally  decided.  It  is  proper,  and  it  may  be  wise,  for 
the  religious  inquirer  to  adopt  a  similar  method  of  thought 
amidst  the  controversies  now  under  consideration. 

Several  explanations  have  been  proposed.  Two  of  these  may 
be  disposed  of  in  a  few  words.  According  to  the  first,  the 
Mosaic  history  of  the  creation  should  be  taken  as  a  poetical 
description,  with  the  concession  to  it  of  the  usual  poetical 
license  in  dealing  with  historical  facts.  According  to  the 
second  theory,  a  vision  of  the  creation,  distributed  in  six 
scenes,  passed  before  the  mind  of  Moses ;  and  visionary  repre- 
sentations should  not  be  subjected  to  a  rigid  scientific  analysis. 
These  explanations  do  not  explain  Moses  :  they  simply  impeach 
his  inspiration.  It  is  open  to  the  inquirer  to  choose,  provision- 
ally, one  of  three  other  solutions. 

Third,  God  made  all  things  out  of  nothing,  by  the  word  of 
his  power,  in  the  space  of  six  ordinary  literal  days.  In  other 
words,  God  created  the  heavenl}^  bodies,  and  the  earth  and  all 
its  fossils,  vegetable  and  animal,  after  the  analogy  of  plants, 
trees,  and  animals,  which  were  made  full  grown.    This  doctrine 


RESTING-PLACES.  27 

was  commonly  received  in  the  Church  until  within  a  recent 
period ;  it  was  formulated  by  the  Westminster  divines,  and  is 
ably  defended  by  Keil.^  However  strongly  it  may  be  doubted, 
it  is  every  way  more  probable  than  the  allegation  that  Moses, 
whether  wantonly  or  ignorantly,  has  deceived  his  readers. 

A  fourth  explanation  is  supported  by  the  authority  and 
learning  of  such  men  as  Cuvier,  Hugh  Miller,  Ebrard,  Schultz, 
and  Tayler  Le^vis.  They  maintain  that  the  "  six  days  "  of  the 
biblical  narrative  are  periods  of  indefinite  length,  perhaps 
innumerable  millennia  ;  one  day  being  with  the  Lord  as  a 
thousand  years.  "Within  these  immeasurable  creative  periods, 
ample  time  was  afforded  for  the  geological  formations ;  and 
within  them  also  the  heavenly  bodies,  including  the  most 
distant  nebulae,  were  created,  and  set  in  their  orbits,  and  their 
light  began  and  finished  its  journey  of  ages  to  the  earth.  The 
profound  and  exhaustive  treatises  in  which  this  hypothesis  is 
expounded  give  it  a  wide  currency. 

A  fifth  scheme  of  reconciliation  is  proposed  by  Chalmers, 
Heugstenberg,  Kurtz,  and  Edward  Hitchcock,  and  is  now 
almost  universally  adopted  by  our  most  approved  authorities, 
both  biblical  and  scientific.  These  writers  distinguish  between 
a  first  and  a  second  creation,  both  being  described  in  the  first 
chapter  of  Genesis.     Thus  :  — 

1.  "  In  the  beginning  God  created  the  heaven  and  the  earth." 

2.  "And  the  earth  was  without  form  [waste,  Hev.  Version'] 
and  void  ;  and  darkness  was  upon  the  face  of  the  deep.  And 
the  Spirit  of  God  moved  upon  the  face  of  the  watersi" 

The  first  verse,  it  is  said,  describes  the  early  or  original 
creation  of  the  earth  and  the  heavenly  bodies.  The  second 
verse  sets  forth  the  chaos  and  darkness  in  which  the  earth, 
having  been  swept  of  life,  was  found  by  the  Spirit  of  life 
brooding  upon  it.  The  blank  space  between  these  two  verses, 
as  above  printed,  represents  a  vast  period  during  which  the 
successive  orders  of  animals  and  vegetables,  some  of  them 
colossal,  flourished,  died,  and  were  fossilized.  Ample  time  was 
also  afforded,  wherein  light  from  the  most  distant  stars  could 

1  Kcil  and  Delitzscb:  Teut.,  vol.  i.  pp.  40  seq. 


28  SAC  BED  UI  STORY. 

reach  the  earth.  The  subsequent  verses,  beginning  with  the 
third,  contain  a  narrative  of  the  second  or  Mosaic  creation  in 
six  days  of  twenty-four  hours  each.  The  first  appearance  of 
the  light,  and  the  alternations  of  day  and  night,  before  the  first 
day,  are  variously  accounted  for.  Some  hold  that  the  light 
was  terrestrial,  and  its  daily  motions  were  regulated  by  the 
Almighty.  According  to  Hugh  Miller,  the  mist  and  darkness 
which  enveloped  the  earth  were  dispersed  at  the  Divine  com- 
mand, by  the  power  of  the  sun.  The  current  theories  of  the 
nature  and  motion  of  light  may  be  easily  adjusted  to  either  of 
these  explanations. 

One  other  branch  of  the  general  question  remains.  The 
infliction  of  death  upon  myriads  of  living  animals,  before  the 
creation  and  fall  of  man,  is  involved  in  the  fourth  and  fifth  of 
these  explanations,  an  assumption  which  is  thought  to  be  incon- 
sistent with  the  doctrine  that  sin  brought  death  into  the  world. 
To  this  suggestion  the  first  answer  may  well  be  that  the  Bible 
nowhere  intimates  that  brutes  die  because  man  sinned.  "  Death 
passed  upon  all  men  because  all  have  sinned."  Next,  by  the 
very  nature  of  the  brute  he  cannot  suffer  death  in  the  broad 
sense  of  the  sentence  passed  on  man :  that  sentence  included 
not  only  the  dissolution  of  the  body,  but  moral  depravity,  with 
the  destruction  of  both  soul  and  body  hereafter.  And,  further, 
man  by  sin  reduced  himself,  in  many  forms,  to  the  level  of  the 
brute  beasts ;  and  his  death  marks  his  degradation.  "  As  one 
dieth,  so  dieth  the  other ;  so  that  a  man  has  no  pre-eminence 
over  a  beast"  (Eccles.  iii.  19). 

It  is  not  necessary  that  one  should  acquaint  himself  with  tlie 
science  of  geology,  with  all  its  facts,  ascertained  or  alleged, 
its  intricate  theories  and  endless  disputations,  in  order  to  justify 
him  in  adhering  steadfastly  to  the  truth  of  the  Mosaic  cos- 
mology. He  is  at  liberty  to  adopt  either  of  the  three  explanations 
above  proposed  as  provisional  only,  a  temporary  resting-place 
for  the  mind  until  the  investigation  shall  be  completed.  Or  he 
may  abide  in  the  conclusion  that  among  so  many  solutions, 
supported  by  established  facts  and  high  authority,  some  one  of 
them  will  be  finally  verified.     He  may  be  sure  that  a  generali- 


PROPHECIES  OF  GEOLOGY.  29 

zation  will  at  length  be  reached  which  shall  include  in  its 
expression  the  many  and  varied  j^henomena  of  the  creation, 
with  the  declarations  concerning  them  in  the  written  Word., 

Whenever  the  facts  in  geology  shall  be  fully  established  and 
rightly  interpreted,  it  will  be  seen  that  the  earth,  no  less  than 
the  heavens,  declares  the  glory  of  God ;  geology  showing  the 
supremacy  of  the  Almighty  through  incomputable  time,  even 
as  astronomy  acknowledges  his  supremacy  through  immeasura- 
ble space.  If  indeed  the  mountains  are  the  crowded  catacombs 
of  worlds  older  than  they ;  if  the  rocks,  like  the  undissolving 
snows  of  the  frozen  zones,  mark  in  their  successive  layers  the 
lapse  of  ages ;  if  their  strata  are  scrolls  upon  which  the  orders 
of  life,  long  since  extinct,  have  perpetuated,  after  the  manner 
of  an  unconscious  autobiography,  the  history  of  themselves ;  if 
they  are  charged  with  inscriptions  monumental  of  worlds  ages 
ago  dissolved,  not  chiselled  upon  the  surface,  but  wrought  into 
their  very  substance  and  structure,  —  what  if  these  things  be 
true  ?  Has  geology  a  prophecy,  as  well  as  a  history  ?  If  the 
present  order  of  things  has  been  preceded  by  orders  less  perfect, 
is  it  to  be  followed  by  others  more  glorious ?  "A  new  heaven 
and  a  new  earth  "  are  promised ;  is  the  present  creation  one 
of  a  series,  the  first  and  rudest  of  which  is  in  the  bosom  of 
the  past,  and  the  last  and  most  sublime  in  the  womb  of  the 
future  ?  Is  our  dispensation  but  one  link  in  the  ever-brighten- 
ing chain  of  God's  eternal  providence?  By  such  inquiries  does 
the  human  mind  reveal  its  aspirations  and  its  ignorance.  Let 
us  reverently  wait  for  further  disclosures. 

**  Parts,  Hke  half  sentences,  confound  :  The  Whole 
Conveys  the  sense,  and  God  is  understood." 


30  SACBED  HISTORY. 


CHAPTER  III. 

THE  MAN". 

Moses  describes  the  creation  of  the  earth  and  of  man  in 
two  forms ;  a  detailed  narrative  in  chaps,  i.  and  ii.  1-3,  and  a 
recapitulation  in  ii.  4-7.  The  latter  opens  with  the  title : 
"  These  are  the  generations  of  the  heavens  and  the  earth." 
Here  we  meet  for  the  first  time  with  an  intimation  of  the  dis- 
tribution into  several  sections  of  the  Book  of  Genesis.  The 
division  into  fifty  chapters  was  made  by  the  rabbins,  for  the 
convenience  of  the  synagogues,  and  is  of  no  higher  authority. 
But  the  distribution  of  the  Book  of  Genesis  into  sections,  called 
generations,  was  made  by  Moses,  by  virtue  of  the  Divine  inspi- 
ration which  guided  him  in  the  composition  of  the  text.  These 
"  generations  "  are,  in  some  instances,  a  history  of  the  creation 
or  of  a  particular  family  ;  as,  the  "  generations  of  the  heaven 
and  the  earth"  (ii.  4),  and  "the  generations  of  Noah"  (vi.  9). 
In  other  places  the  word  signifies  simply  a  genealogical  table ; 
as,  the  "generations  of  Shem  "  (xi.  10).  There  are  eleven  of 
these  sections :  — 

The  Introduction,  from  i.  1  to  ii.  3. 

1.  The  primeval  history  from  the  creation  to  the  birth  of 
Seth,  —  ii.  4  to  chap.  iv. 

2.  Adam's  descendants  down  to  Noah,  —  chap.  v.  to  vi.  8. 

3.  Noah's  family  till  his  death,  —  vi.  9  to  the  end  of  chap.  ix. 

4.  History  of  the  sons  of  Noah,  —  x.  1  to  xi.  9. 

5.  Genealogy  of  Shem  to  Terah  and  Abraham,  —  xi.  10-26. 

6.  Terah's  posterity,  including  Sarah  and  Rebekah,  and  the 
biography  of  Abraham,  —  xi.  27  to  xxv.  11. 

7.  Ishmael's  posterity,  —  xxv.  12-18. 


UNITY  OF  THE  MAN  AND    THE    WOMAN.  31 

8.  Tlie  history  of  Isaac  and  his  family,  from  the  death  of 
Abraham,  to  liis  own  death,  —  xxv.  19  to  the  end  of  xxxv. 

9.  Esau's  offspring,  —  xxxvi.  1-8. 

10.  Esau  in  Mount  Seir,  —  xxxvi.  9  to  xxxvii.  1. 

11.  The  history  of  Jacob  to  his  death,  and  the  death  of 
Joseph,  —  xxxvii.  2  to  the  end  of  Genesis. 

These  sections  are  of  unequal  length ;  the  longest  containing 
thirteen  chapters,  and  the  shortest  seven  verses  only.  Sub- 
divisions occur  in  the  longer  sections,  and  are  distinctly  marked. 
They  indicate  the  salient  points  in  the  progress  of  the  history, 
and  contribute  to  both  the  perspicuity  and  unity  of  the  narra- 
tive. But  this  distribution  of  the  text  does  not  appear  in  any 
other  of  the  five  books  of  Moses.  It  occurs  twice  only  in  the 
later  Scriptures.  The  genealogy  of  David  is  introduced  in 
the  Book  of  Ruth  by  the  title,  "  Now  these  are  the  generations 
of  Pharez ; "  and  the  Gospel  of  Matthew  is  superscribed, 
"  The  book  of  the  generation  of  Jesus  Christ." 

Gen.  i.  26,  ii.  1-7,  v.  1,  2.  —  On  the  sixth  and  last  of  the 
creative  days,  the  beasts,  cattle,  and  creeping  things  were  called 
into  existence ;  after  that  was  done,  man  was  made.  What  are 
some  of  his  leading  characteristics  ? 

1.  He  was  created  single  and  alone.  The  lower  animals  were 
formed  in  pairs.  And  the  production  "  abundantly "  by  the 
waters,  at  the  word  of  God,  of  fishes  and  fowls,  warrants  the 
conclusion  that  each  species  inhabiting  the  water,  and  the  air, 
and  the  dry  land,  was  created  not  only  in  the  pair,  but  in 
swarms  or  flocks.  But  only  one  human  being  was  originally 
created,  the  woman  not  having  been  formed  until  after  the 
sixth  di2Cj. 

2.  "  Male  and  female  created  he  them,  and  blessed  them,  and 
called  their  name  Adam  "  (Gen.  v.  2).  A  few  writers,  among 
them  Lenormant,  give  countenance  to  a  Jewish  tradition  to  the 
effect  that  Adam  was  made  androgynal ;  both  sexes  being  in 
his  one  person.^  This  preposterous  tradition  may  be  dismissed 
without  ceremony  on  the  authority  of  Moses,  who  describes 
minutely  the  formation  of  the  woman,  not  by  a  resolution  of 

1  Lenormant:  Bog.  of  History,  p.  64,  New  York  ed.,  18G2. 


32  SACRED  HISTORY. 

one  double  being  into  two  separate  persons,  nor  by  any  natural 
development  even  as  the  limb  shoots  out  of  the  trunk  of  a  tree, 
but  by  a  distinct  creative  act.  The  Lord  God  made  {Heb.,  built 
up)  into  a  woman,  the  rib  which  he  took  from  the  man.  Adam 
knew  that  she  was  not  formed  of  the  dust,  but  from  a  portion 
of  his  own  person.  He  said,  "  This  is  now  "  (^Heb.,  "  this  time 
it  is  ")  "  bone  of  my  bone,  flesh  of  my  flesh ;  she  shall  be  called 
woman  "  {Heb.^  Isha  or  man-ess;  Saxon^  wife-man),  "because  she 
was  taken  out  of  my  flesh."  Now,  this  unique  creation  yields 
several  important  results.  It  clears  up,  for  example,  the  doc- 
trine of  the  unity  of  the  human  race,  both  in  origin  and  species ; 
for  even  the  first  pair  was  not  by  original  creation  two,  and 
therefore  separate  persons,  but  one,  —  only  one,  and  the  same. 
The  way  is  closed  against  any  impeachment  of  this  consanguin- 
eous unity  on  the  allegation  that  the  first  man  and  the  first 
woman  were  of  different  races,  or  of  different  families  of  the 
same  race.  Next,  the  creation  of  both  sexes  in  one  person 
confronts  the  dogma  and  opprobrium  of  the  pagan  philosophy 
which  teaches  that  woman  is  in  her  intimate  nature  inferior  to 
man :  by  original  creation  she  is  one  with  him.  This  oneness, 
moreover,  establishes  the  indissoluble  character  of  the  covenant 
of  marriage.  "Wherefore,"  said  Christ  of  the  man  and  his 
wife,  "they  are  no  more  twain,  but  one  flesh"  (Matt.  xix.  6). 
Again,  only  one  man  and  one  woman  can  be  lawfully  joined 
together  in  marriage ;  for  so,  undoubtedly,  was  it  at  the  begin- 
ning. Further,  there  is  a  lesson  here  pointing  to  the  delicate 
respect  and  affectionate  attention  which  the  husband  and  wife 
owe  to  each  other :  "  For  no  man  ever  yet  despised  his  own 
flesh."  Still  further,  the  analogy  between  the  conjugal  relation 
and  the  relation  of  Christ  to  the  Church,  makes  it  obligatory  on 
the  husband  to  love  his  wife  as  Christ  loved  the  Church,  and  on 
the  wife  to  see  that  she  reverence  her  husband  (Eph.  v.  25,  33). 
Lastly,  since  the  whole  race  was  in  the  loins  of  this  one  man 
Adam,  he  was  competent,  as  their  sole  representative,  to  enter 
with  God,  for  himself  and  for  them,  into  the  covenant  of  works. 
3.  Taking  the  narrative  of  the  creation  in  its  obvious  sense, 
we  learn  that  man  was  created  full-grown,  after  the  analogy  of 


UNITY  OF  BODY-  AND   SOUL.  83 

the  formation  of  the  grass  and  herb  and  of  the  tree  "whose 
seed  was  in  them,"  and  of  the  lower  animals  after  their  kind. 
Surely  this  cannot  be  a  rash  statement ;  for  there  is  nothing  in 
the  record  and  nothing  in  the  nature  of  the  case  indicating  that 
the  trees  in  Eden  sprouted  and  grew  up  from  the  seed,  or 
that  man  began  life  in  infancy.  He  was  created  in  ripe  man- 
hood, with  the  faculties  of  body  and  mind  in  full  vigor,  with  the 
gifts  of  reason,  conscience,  the  free  will,  and  speech,  and  in 
original  righteousness.  This  circumstance  is  of  commanding 
importance,  showing  that  the  man  was  not  left  in  his  adoles- 
cence or  unreason,  or  with  an  embryo  conscience,  to  meet  the 
responsibilities  that  were  laid  upon  him  in  the  matter  of  the 
forbidden  fruit. 

4.  He  was  body  and  soul  joined  together.  His  body  was 
formed  of  the  dust  of  the  ground.  His  soul  was  a  specific 
Divine  creation  :  "  God  breathed  into  his  nostrils  the  breath  of 
life,  and  man  became  a  living  soul."  There  is  no  rational 
ground  for  the  conjecture  that  God  first  constructed  his  body, 
and  after  that  was  done  he  breathed  life  into  the  lifeless  form  : 
we  should  rather  say  that  the  creation  of  the  body  and  soul 
was  a  simultaneous  act  of  Divine  power.  There  is,  doubtless, 
an  impassable  difference  between  matter  and  mind :  matter,  so 
the  case  may  be  briefly  stated,  has  extension,  is  complex,  divisi- 
ble, and  does  not  think  ;  mind  is  without  extension,  is  simple, 
is  indivisible,  and  does  think.  The  dignity,  therefore,  of  the 
human  frame  is  not  to  be  estimated  by  the  limitations  or  mean- 
ness of  its  constituent  elements.  For  in  nothing  is  the  wisdom 
of  the  Creator  more  conspicuous  than  in  the  congruity  of  man's 
body  to  the  living  spirit.  Let  us  imagine  the  horror  which 
would  seize  upon  the  rational  soul  if  it  were  to  find  itself 
incarcerated  in  the  carcass  of  a  dumb  beast.  Or,  reversing  the 
conception,  what  could  be  more  revolting  than  the  freak  of 
nature  which  should  put  into  the  body  of  a  man,  like  King  Saul, 
the  spirit  of  a  beast,  like  the  ass  on  which  he  rode  ?  Now,  when 
man  stood  in  his  original  righteousness,  the  body  divinely 
created  was  in  perfect  unison  with  the  human  soul  divinely  in- 
breathed.    Nor  has  sin,  or  death  by  sin,  wholly  obliterated  tlie 


34  S ACRED  HISTORY. 

signs  of  this  congruency.  The  man,  though  fallen,  preserves 
his  erect  position,  his  majestic  form  and  lordly  bearing,  agility 
and  grace  of  movement,  sustained  vigor  alike  in  arctic  and 
troj)ical  latitudes ;  melody  and  compass  of  voice  ;  brain,  tongue 
and  hand,  the  organs  respectively  of  thought,  speech,  and  cun- 
ning ;  and  his  countenance  telling  the  tale  of  inward  resolve 
and  emotion.  His  primitive  longevity  pointed  to  the  original 
immortality  of  the  body.  The  same  body,  though  now  dying, 
is  susceptible  to  the  change  which  shall  prepare  it  for  eternal 
life  and  celestial  experience.  The  thought  gathers  immense 
weight  from  the  honor  which  the  Son  of  God  put  upon  the 
human  frame  when  he  took  it  to  himself,  "  with  all  the  essential 
properties  and  common  infirmities  thereof."  There  was  in  him 
no  sense  of  an  unnatural  or  misjoined  relation  to  our  flesh  and 
blood.  He  was  at  home  in  the  body.  Moreover,  the  glory  with 
which  the  Lord  Jesus  clothed  this  body  became  exceeding  glory 
when  he  brought  it  up  out  of  the  grave  changed,  yet  the  same, 
and  bore  it  up  with  him  at  his  asce]]sion  into  heaven  and  to  his 
throne.  In  a  word,  the  Scriptures  ascribe  a  dignity  more  than 
imperial  to  our  mortal  frame,  teaching  us  that  it  became  first 
the  habitation  of  the  image  of  God  in  the  soul,  then  the  temple 
of  the  Son  of  God  (John  ii.  21),  and  now  the  temple  of  the 
Holy  Ghost  (1  Cor.  vi.  19) ;  and  it  is  hereafter  to  put  on 
immortality  and  incorruption. 

5.  We  come  next  upon  the  true  glory  of  man  :  he  was  made 
in  the  image  and  likeness  of  God.  The  word  "  likeness  "  ex- 
plains the  word  "  image  ;  "  that  is  to  say,  God  made  man  in  an 
image  like  himself.  This  image  is  not  predicated  of  the  body, 
for  God  had  none ;  and  of  the  human  nature  of  Christ  it  is 
declared  that  he  was  made,  in  that  particular,  like  to  his  breth- 
ren, not  that  they  were  made  like  unto  him.  The  likeness  of 
man's  living  soul  to  God  presents  itself  in  various  aspects. 
First,  in  its  substance  the  soul  is  spiritual  or  immaterial,  and 
immortal,  —  not  identical  with  but  like  unto  God.  Secondly, 
intelligence  is  an  essential  element  of  this  Divine  image. 
Through  self-consciousness  man  comes  to  a  knowledge  of  things 
around  him ;   by  virtue  of  abundant  revelations  he    comes   to 


7.V   THE  IMAGE  OF  GOD.  35 

know  God  himself.  There  is  nothing  irreverent  in  the  sugges- 
tion that  in  some  branches  of  science,  as  in  pure  and  applied 
mathematics,  man  sees  things  precisely  as  God  sees  them. 
When  Kepler  had  discovered  the  three  laws  of  planetary  mo- 
tion, he  j)rayed,  saying,  "  Father  of  the  universe,  what  moved 
thee  to  raise  a  little  feeble  creature  of  earth  so  as  to  make  him 
a  king,  and  almost  a  god,  in  thinking  thy  thoughts  after  thee  ? 
I  tlmnk  thee.  Lord  and  Creator  of  all,  that  thou  hast  filled  me 
with  rapture  over  the  works  of  thy  hand,  and  hast  enabled 
me  to  disclose  to  men  the  glory  of  th}^  creation,  so  far  as  a  finite 
mind  can  comprehend  infinity."  Still  further,  in  the  sphere  of 
the  spiritual,  man  is  able  to  revolve  in  his  mind  the  things  that 
occupy  the  attention  of  the  Almighty ;  the  truths  concerning 
the  being  of  God,  in  substance  one,  in  persons  three ;  his  adora- 
ble attributes ;  sin,  in  fallen  angels  and  men ;  redemption ;  the 
death  of  the  soul  and  body,  the  salvation  of  both ;  eternal 
misery,  and  eternal  blessedness.  Thirdly,  the  conscience  in  man 
is  an  element  in  his  likeness  to  God.  He  is  .competent  to  per- 
ceive the  ineffaceable  distinction  between  the  right  and  the 
wrong,  the  evil  and  the  good,  in  the  sphere  of  eternal  and 
immutable  morality.  With  the  findings  of  this  judgment,  the 
approval  of  the  right  and  the  good,  and  tiie  disaj^proval  of  the 
wrong  and  the  bad,  rise  in  his  bosom.  He  excuses  or  accuses 
himself  and  others.  The  judge  who  sits  within  responds  to  the 
Supreme  Judge  who  stands  always  at  the  door.  Fourthly,  man, 
like  God,  is  a  person,  a  separate  force.  "  Person,"  says  Locke, 
"  stands  for  a  thinking,  intelligent  being,  that  has  reason  and 
reflection,  and  can  consider  itself  as  itself,  the  same  thinking 
thing,  in  different  times  and  places."  ^  A  person  can  say  I  and 
my  and  mine;  may  be  addressed  as  you  or  thou.,  yours  or  thine ; 
may  be  spoken  of  as  he  or  she.,  him  or  her.  Personality,  there- 
fore, is  common  to  both  God  and  man  ;  but  it  is  not  shared  with 
them  by  any  material  substance  or  lower  animal.  If  it  be 
suggested  that  we  apply  the  personal  pronouns  him  and  her  to 
birds  and  beasts,  the  reply  is  that  Ave  use  these  words  simply  to 
denote  the  distinction  of  sex ;  and  we  show  that  we  deny  per- 

^  Essay  on  Human  Understanding,  book  ii.  chap.  27. 


36  SACRED  HISTORY. 

sonality  to  tliem,  by  refusing  to  speak  of  them  as  ivJio  or  whom. 
Unlike  God  and  man,  they  are  brute  beasts,  not  persons. 
Fifthly,  a  will  to  choose,  as  well  as  a  reason  to  examine  and 
conclude,  is  an  essential  feature  of  this  image.  God,  who  is  the 
freest  being  in  the  universe,  gave  to  man  the  power  to  choose 
and  to  refuse  in  view  of  the  motives  set  before  Mm.  He  is 
therefore  free.  This  royal  but  perilous  gift  proved  fatal  to  man 
and  his  posterity,  but  it  could  not  be  withheld  from  the  image 
of  God  in  man  ;  that  being  absent,  the  creature  would  not  have 
deserved  the  name  of  man.  Sixthly,  in  the  affections  or  feel- 
ings man  was  made  like  God.  A  supreme  being  without 
affections,  cold  and  impassive  towards  the  pure  and  the  beauti- 
ful and  the  good,  towards  the  miserable  and  the  guilty,  may 
suit  the  philosophy  of  the  Brahmin  and  the  pantheist ;  may 
satisfy  the  spiritual  longings  of  those  who  call  the  Absolute, 
the  Unknown  and  Unknowable,  Humanity,  Motion,  Force, 
Matter  clothed  with  the  Potency  and  Promise  of  Life,  by  the 
name  of  God.  But  the  God  of  the  Bible,  and  Jesus  his  express 
image,  and  man  created  in  his  likeness,  are,  each  in  his  own 
measure,  redundant  and  perpetual  fountains  of  mighty  aifec- 
tions.  We  must,  however,  rise  to  a  higher  plane  of  thought. 
Seventhly,  the  moral  righteousness  in  which  man  was  created 
displays  this  image  in  its  highest  glory.  Three  sources  are 
open  from  which  we  may  take  knowledge  of  man's  original 
righteousness.  Putting  together  our  best  conceptions  of  the 
holiness  of  God,  of  the  holiness  of  Christ,  and  of  all  that  is 
holy  in  the  renewed  man,  we  reach  a  conception  of  the  original 
righteousness  in  Yhich  man  was  created.  That  is  to  say,  he 
was  created  in  knowledge,  or  the  right  apprehension  of  spiritual 
truth  ;  in  righteousness,  or  rectitude  towards  God  and  towards 
his  neighbor  ;  and  in  holiness,  which  penetrated  and  lighted  up 
the  soul  with  the  Divine  excellences.  In  all  these  respects  he 
was,  by  creation,  in  the  likeness  of  God. 

It  is  hardly  necessary  to  add  that  the  likeness  of  man  to  God 
was  a  similitude  or  resemblance,  not  a  sameness  or  identity. 
God  is  self-existent,  infinite,  immutable,  and  infallible :  man  is 
derived,  finite,  mutable,  and  fallible.    God  is  a  most  pure  Spirit, 


MAN'S  DIGNITY,   A   RULING  IDEA.  37 

without  body,  parts,  or  passions.  Man's  spiritual  nature  is 
lodged  in  flesh  and  blood ;  his.  immortality  is  conditioned  on 
the  will  of  his  Creator ;  his  intelligence  is  narrow ;  his  con- 
science needs  a  guide  wiser  than  he  ;  his  personality,  though 
rooted  in  a  separate  force,  asserts  itself  but  feebly  ;  his  freedom 
and  power  of  will  to  do  that  which  is  well  pleasing  to  God  was 
yet  mutable,  so  that  he  might  fall  from  it ;  his  pure  affections 
were  not  proof  against  temptation  ;  and  his  original  righteous- 
ness might  be  lost.  Taking  this  possible  loss  under  reflection, 
the  Reformers  drew  a  distinction  between  the  moral  correspond- 
ence and  the  constitutional  likeness  of  man  with  God.  Spir- 
ituality, immortality,  intelligence,  conscience,  personality,  the 
affections,  and  the  free  will  enter  into  the  very  substance  of 
the  soul,  and  they  could  not  be  taken  away  without  the  loss 
of  humanity  itself ;  they  being  gone,  the  man  would  cease  to 
be  a  man.  But  knowledge,  righteousness,  and  true  holiness  are 
attributes  which  man  might  lose,  and  in  point  of  fact  did  lose, 
and  yet  he  remained  a  rational,  voluntary,  ^nd  accountable 
being,  —  a  fallen  man,  but  still  a  man,  in  spiritual  substance  the 
same,  in  moral  nature  depraved. 

The  exalted  dignity  of  man,  having  been  made  in  the  image 
of  God,  takes  the  place  of  a  ruling  idea  in  the  history  of 
redemption.  It  appears,  for  example,  (1)  in  the  union  of  the 
Divine  and  the  human  in  the  jDcrson  of  the  Redeemer.  He 
took  to  himself  not  the  body  only,  but  the  whole  and  perfect 
nature  of  man  ;  so  that  "  the  Godhead  and  the  manhood  were 
inseparably  joined  together  in  one  person,  without  conversion, 
composition,  or  confusion."  ^  This  "  great  mystery  of  godli- 
ness "  is  partly  explained  by  the  real  dignity  of  the  nature 
which  Christ  assumed  ;  the  created  image  and  likeness  of  God 
in  man  being  united  to  the  "  uncreated  image  of  the  invisible 
God."  The  wonder  grows  upon  us  as  we  learn  that  this  union 
is  indissoluble.  Jesus  is  at  the  right  hand  of  God  exalted,  and 
reigns  the  God-man  forever. 

(2)  The  Divine  purpose  to  redeem  man  found  a  sufficient 
reason  in  his  original  greatness.    He  was  worth  saving ;  he  for 

1  Westminster  Confession,  chap.  viii. 


38  SACRED  HISTORY. 

whom  Christ  died  was  no  worm.  No  wonder  that  the  Al- 
mighty "  had  a  desire  to  the  work  of  his  hands,"  when  he  saw 
in  that  work  a  similitude  to  himself. 

(3)  The  same  royal  nature  opens  the  way  for  an  intimate 
communion  between  God  and  man.  The  attributes  which  were 
common  to  both,  though  in  the  creature  of  low  degree  in 
the  comparison,  are  so  many  ear-gates  and  eye-gates,  through 
which  the  words  of  infinite  wisdom  and  the  light  of  Divine  glory 
are  delivered  upon  the  human  soul.  The  revelations  of  God 
address  themselves  to  our  intelligence,  conscience,  personality, 
free  will,  and  affections  ;  to  our  fears  and  hopes.  We  may  gain 
the  knowledge  of  God  by  the  study  of  his  works,  by  examining 
his  image  in  the  soul,  by  searching  the  Scriptures,  by  looking 
unto  Jesus,  and  by  the  enlightening  of  the  Holy  Spirit. 
Intimate  communion  with  God  was  the  supreme  blessing 
granted  to  man  in  his  state  of  innocency  in  the  garden  ;  and 
though  in  a  lower  degree,  it  is  to  this  day  one  of  the  most  exalted 
privileges  bestot^ed  on  him  in  whom  the  image  is  renewed. 

(4)  The  capacities  for  knowledge,  in  the  soul  of  man  redeemed 
and  made  holy,  are  limited  only  by  the  limits  of  the  finite.  But 
who  shall  set  bounds  to  these  capacities  ?  Here  inspiration  it- 
self leaves  us  at  loss  what  to  say.  The  great  apostle  was  unable 
to  fetch  the  compass  of  the  amazing  dimensions  of  the  knowl- 
edge of  the  love  of  Christ  towards  us,  which  passeth  knowledge. 
They  that  receive  such  knowledge  are  filled  with  the  pleroma : 
"all  the  fulness  of  God."  Because  we  are  like  him,  and  he  is 
like  us,  the  infinite  ability  in  him  to  give,  and  the  large  but 
finite  capacity  in  us  to  receive,  are  in  some  sense  correlative. 

(5)  The  intrinsic  worth  of  this  Divine  image  is  to  be  recog- 
nized in  the  command  of  Christ  to  preach  the  gospel  to  every 
creature,  and  in  the  eagerness  of  the  apostles  to  do  that.  All 
men,  everywhere,  have  one  common  nature  ;  all  without  excep- 
tion are  in  God's  image  and  likeness  :  therefore  salvation  is 
offered  to  all.  Strip  the  human  being  of  every  adventitious 
peculiarity,  whether  skin-deep  or  bred  in  the  bone  ;  color,  stat- 
ure, language,  religion,  civilization  or  barbarism,  virtues  or 
crimes,  culture  or  ignorance,  of  high  caste  or  of  the  outcast ; 


TWO    THEORIES   OF  EVOLUTION.  39 

cut  down  to  the  quick;  come  clown  to  Avhat  is  radical  and 
thorougli  in  human  nature,  and  you  shall  find  there  the  image 
of  God,  —  distorted  it  may  be,  defaced,  shattered,  polluted,  but 
the  indestructible  image  still.  Christ  died  to  redeem,  and  the 
Church  strives  to  save,  that  immortal,  self-conscious,  willing, 
choosing,  feeling,  enduring  personality  ;  distinct  from  matter  ; 
the  image  of  the  great,  self-existent,  eternal  First  Cause  of  all 
things,  even  the  Most  High,  Most  Holy,  Most  Absolute,  Most 
Free,  the  Lord  God  Almighty. 

These  Divine  revelations  may  be  used  for  the  purpose  of 
testing  the  speculation  of  modern  evolutionists  in  regard  to  the 
creation  of  the  first  man.  While  biblical  scholars  are  busy  with 
the  relation  of  man  to  his  Creator  and  Redeemer,  the  biolo- 
gists are  busy  with  the  relations  of  man  to  the  lower  animals. 
Among  the  theories  that  are  proposed,  two  are  most  talked 
about.  One  of  them  is  advanced  by  Darwin  and  supported  by 
the  materialists,  the  other  is  held  by  certain  Christian  philoso- 
phers. The  relation  between  these  theories  and  the  word  of 
God  is  the  only  aspect  of  the  case  which  falls  within  the  range 
of  Sacred  History. 

The  hypothesis  of  Dr.  Charles  Darwin  is  substantially  as  fol- 
lows :  ^  "  The  quadrumana  "  (among  which  the  ape  is  classed) 
"and  all  the  higher  mammals  are  probably  derived  from  an 
ancient  marsupial  animal,  and  this,  through  a  long  line  of  diver- 
sified forms,  either  from  some  reptile-like  or  some  amphibian- 
like creature,  and  this  again  from  some  fish-like  animal."  ^  He 
remarks  that  the  simiadse  (or  monkey  tribes)  are  divided  by 
almost  all  naturalists  into  the  Old-World  monkeys  and  the  New- 
World  monkeys,  differing  in  the  shape  of  nostrils  and  in  the  num- 
ber of  premolars  in  each  jaw,  —  six  against  four.  To  this  he  adds, 
"  There  consequently  can  be  no  doubt  that  man  is  an  offshoot 
of  the  Old-World  simian  stem."  ^  "  It  is,  therefore,  probable 
that  Africa  was  formerly  inhabited  by  extinct  apes,  closely 
allied  to  the  gorilla  and  chimpanzee  ;  and  as  these  species  are 
now  man's  nearest  allies,  it  is  somewhat  more  probable  that  our 

1  Darwin:  Descent  of  Man,  and  Selection  in  Relation  to  Sex,  2  v.,  N.  Y.,  1871. 

2  Descent  of  Man,  vol.  ii.  p.  372.  3  Ibid.,  vol.  i.  pp.  188, 189. 


40  SACRED  HISTORY. 

early  progenitors  lived  on  the  African  continent  than  else- 
where." 1  The  conclusion  which  Dr.  Darwin  reaches  is  thus 
announced  in  his  last  chapter:  "We  thus  learn  that  man" 
(body,  soul,  and  spirit)  "  is  descended  from  a  hairy  quadruped, 
furnished  with  tail  and  pointed  ears,  probably  arboreal  in  his 
habits,  and  an  inhabitant  of  the  Old  World."-  The  repug- 
nance of  this  hypothesis  to  the  word  of  God  may  be  pointed 
out  in  a  few  words. 

The  hypothesis  assumes,  (1)  that  man  was  begotten,  not 
created  de  novo.  (2)  He  came  with  his  rational  and  account- 
able nature,  by  ordinary  generation,  from  the  loins  of  a  pair  of 
dumb  beasts,  a  sire  and  a  dam.  (3)  The  last  clause  in  Luke's 
genealogy  of  Christ  might  read,  "  Cainan,  which  was  the  son  of 
Enos,  which  was  the  son  of  Adam,  which  was  the  son"  —  shall 
we  say,  of  a  monkey  ?  (4)  According  to  Moses,  man  was  made 
in  the  image  of  God :  according  to  Darwin,  this  young  immortal, 
the  heir  of  the  world,  was  suckled  by  a  mother  brute  ;  antici- 
pating the  story  of  Romulus  and  Remus  and  the  she-wolf,  with 
the  difference,  that  in  the  heathen  mythology  Romulus  and 
Remus  were  the  sons  of  Mars,  in  the  new  science  Adam  was 
the  son  of  an  advanced  ape.  (5)  It  is  a  fair  inference  from 
Moses,  that  man  was  made  full  grown,  in  the  maturity  of  his 
exalted  nature,  and  that  he  was  immediately  admitted  to  com- 
munion with  God.  'It  is  a  fair  inference  from  Darwin,  that  this 
free,  choosing,  thinking,  speaking  being  was  born  a  cub,  domes- 
ticated with  irrational,  chattering,  conscienceless,  hairy,  arboreal 
mammals,  taught  to  recognize  them  as  his  parents,  and  the 
younger  brood,  if  brood  there  was  in  the  ancestral  cave  or 
hollow  tree,  as  his  full  brothers  and  sisters ;  unless  indeed  they 
also  were,  like  him,  infant  children  and  not  cubs.  (6)  Moses 
teaches  us  that  the  birthplace  of  our  primitive  ancestors  was  in 
Asia :  according  to  Darwin  it  is  "  more  probable  that  they  lived 
on  the  African  continent  than  elsewhere."  (7)  The  Mosaic 
account  of  the  creation  of  man  is  simple,  sufficient,  and  attrac- 
tive ;  worthy  alike  of  the  Creator  and  the  creature.  On  the 
other  hand,  as  Sir  William  Thomson  observes,  the  hypothesis 

1  Descent  of  Man,  vol.  i.  p.  191.  2  ibid.,  vol.  ii.  p.  372. 


TUEISTIC  EVOLUTION  CONSIDERED.  41 

"  that  man  could  be  evolved  out  of  the  lower  anmials  is  the 
wildest  dream  of  materialism,  a  pure  assumption,  offensive  by  its 
folly  and  arrogance." 

Theistic  evolution  assumes  the  existence  of  God,  the  plenary 
inspiration  of  the  Scriptures,  and  the  infallible  authority  of  the 
Mosaic  account  of  the  creation.  The  hypothesis  suggests  that 
the  body  of  the  first  man  Adam  —  evidently,  according  to  some 
thinkers ;  probably,  according  to  others  —  was  derived  by  Divine 
power  from  a  lower  animal,  say  the  anthropoid  app ;  his  soul 
was  created  by  the  Almighty ;  and  his  wife  was  formed  from 
Adam's  side  by  a  specific  act  of  the  Almighty.  The  consistency 
of  this  hypothesis  with  the  word  of  God  is  the  only  inquiry  to 
be  considered. 

In  the  outset,  this  speculation  comes  to  the  Scriptures  under 
certain  disadvantages.  First,  its  advocates  do  not  affirm  that 
the  theory  is  expressly  set  forth  in  the  Bible,  nor  that  it  is 
distinctly  upheld  thereby,  or  in  harmony  therewith  ;  but  that, 
simply,  it  is  not  contradictor}^  thereunto.  This  is  of  itself  a 
sign  of  weakness,  in  the  judgment  of  those  wlio  adhere  to  the 
Church  doctrine  of  the  positive  agreement  between  God's  work 
of  creation  and  the  Mosaic  account  thereof.  Moreover,  the 
most  approved  thinkers  in  this  school  of  evolution  go  no  farther 
than  to  say  that  their  doctrine  is  probably  true,  or  that  as  yet 
it  is  an  unverified  or  unproved  hypothesis.  Now,  it  is  an  estab- 
lished rule  of  interpretation,  that  the  Scriptures  ought  not  to  be 
taken  out  of  their  obvious  and  historical  sense  in  order  to 
be  adjusted  to  any  hypothesis  which  is  confessedly  unverified  ; 
lest  perchance  the  Scripture  itself  be  broken  by  the  final 
rejection  of  an  erratic  speculation.  Again,  this  theory  brings 
together  in  one  view  the  origin  of  man's  body  from  the  bod}^  of 
non-human  ancestors,  the  origin  of  man's  soul  by  the  inbreath- 
ing of  the  Almighty,  and  the  creation  of  Eve's  body  and  soul 
by  a  direct  act  of  Divine  power.  The  picture  is  marred  by  an 
incongruity  in  its  features  quite  foreign  to  the  sustained  dignity 
and  unity  of  God's  word  and  works.  The  marriage  of  a  woman 
created  by  the  Almighty,  to  a  man  derived  from  an  advanced 
ape,  is  a  poor  analogue  of  Christ  and  his  Church. 


42  SACRED  HISTORY. 

In  bringing  the  hypothesis  to  the  direct  test  of  Scripture  it 
will  be  convenient  to  consider  two  questions  :  By  what  process 
of  Divine  power  was  the  body  of  man  produced  ?  Whence  was 
derived  the  material  of  which  it  was  formed?  The  answer 
returned  by  the  Divine  word  to  the  first  question  is  that  man's 
body  was  created ;  without  a  hint  to  the  effect  that  it  was 
begotten,  or  in  any  way  derived  from  a  lower  animal.  "  So 
God  created  man  in  his  image  "  (i.  27).  The  word  "  created  " 
(bah-rah)  in  the  Kal,  or  simple  form,  appears  thirty-eight  times 
in  the  Hebrew  Scriptures.  In  eYerj  instance  God  is  the  sub- 
ject ;  it  is  nowhere  said  that  another  than  God  created  any 
thing.  The  word  is  used  in  all  the  great  beginnings  of  the 
earth  and  man.  In  the  very  beginning,  when  non-entity  gave 
place  to  the  existing  universe,  God  created  the  heavens  and  the 
earth.  In  the  original  of  animal  life,  God  created  the  sea- 
monsters  and  all  that  live  in  the  air  and  waters.  In  the 
original  of  rational  and  spiritual  life,  God  created  man  in  his 
own  image.  In  the  beginning  of  the  new  life  in  the  soul,  dead 
in  sin,  God  creates  the  clean  heart  and  renews  the  right  spirit 
(Ps.  li.  10).  At  the  great  consummation,  God  says,  "  I  create 
new  heavens  and  a  new  earth  "  (Isa.  Ixv.  17).  Creation,  there- 
fore, is  the  calling  into  a  separate  existence  of  one  of  the  nobler 
works  of  God.  Man,  in  his  origin,  is  in  the  category  to  which 
belong  the  universe,  life  in  the  air  and  seas,  spiritual  life  in  the 
soul,  and  the  new  material  universe  ;  that  is  to  say,  like  them 
he  was  created  immediately,  body  and  soul,  by  the  Almighty. 
It  should  be  observed,  however,  that  the  word  "  formed  "  is  in 
one  place  applied  to  man :  "  And  the  Lord  God  formed  man  of 
the  dust  of  the  ground "  (ii.  7).  The  explanation  is  easy. 
The  word  "  create  "  in  the  Hebrew  text  is  never  used  with  the 
accusative  of  the  material ;  when,,  therefore,  the  sacred  writer 
would  mention  the  substance  entering  into  man's  body,  he  must 
needs  employ  a  different  verb  admitting  of  the  use  of  that 
accusative.  It  should  be  noted  again  that  God  said,  "•  Let  us 
make  man  in  our  image,  after  our  likeness."  The  appearance  of 
the  word  "  make  "  is  not  so  readily  accounted  for.  And  yet  it 
may  be  remarked,  first,  that  in  the  Divine  counsels  "  make  " 


ADAM'S  BODY  NOT  BEGOTTEN.  43 

was  used  where  the  leading  thought  was  the  exalted  tyjDe  of 
the  coming  man,  not  the  mode  of  his  formation  ;  next,  when 
Moses  passes  from  fhe  Divine  purpose  to  the  Divine  execution 
of  the  purpose,  he  is  careful  to  employ  the  term  "  create,"  and 
that  repetitiously  :  "  So  God  created  man  in  his  own  image,  in 
the  image  of  God  created  he  him  ;  male  and  female  created 
he  them  "  (v.  27). 

In  answer  to  the  second  question  it  is  written,  "  And  the 
Lord  God  formed  man  of  the  dust  of  the  ground."  The  word 
"dust"  is  here  broadly  used  to  embrace  all  the  earthly  substances 
which  enter  into  the  composition  of  the  human  body :  phospho- 
rus, lime,  iron,  carbon,  hydrogen,  nitrogen.  God  created  these 
materials,  and  deposited  them  in  the  earth  ;  when  the  time  came, 
he  built  them  into  the  body  of  the  first  man.  That  he  did  not 
form  Adam's  body  out  of  the  substances  which  had  been  organ- 
ized in  a  lower  animal  akin  to  man,  but  out  of  unorganized 
matter,  appears  from  the  limitation  put  on  the  word  "  dust : " 
"  the  dust  of  the  ground."  Construing  the  phrase  according  to 
the  obvious  and  historical  meaning  (and  nothing  appears  in  the 
record  suggesting  any  other  meaning),  we  learn  that  the  ground 
from  which  the  dust  was  taken  for  Adam's  body  is  the  ver}- 
kind  of  ground  which  was  not  tilled  before  man  was  created 
(Gen.  ii.  5)  ;  the  ground  which  was  watered  by  the  mist  (ver. 
6)  ;  out  of  which  grew  the  trees  of  the  garden  (ver.  9)  ;  out  of 
which  God  formed  every  beast  and  fowl  (ver.  19)  ;  the  ground 
that  was  cursed  for  man's  sake  (iii.  17)  ;  out  of  which  man  was 
taken,  which  he  was  required  to  till  (ver.  23)  ;  and  to  which 
he  shall  return  (ver.  19)  ;  which  Cain  tilled  (iv.  2)  ;  the  fruits 
of  which  Cain  offered  up  to  God  (ver.  3)  ;  from  wiiich  the 
blood  of  Abel  cried  to  God  (ver.  10)  ;  and  which  should  refuse 
her  strength  to  Cain  (ver.  12).  These  places  are  taken  from 
the  first  four  chapters  of  Genesis.  In  the  sequel  of  the  Old 
Testament,  the  same  Hebrew  word  is  translated  interchangeably 
in  the  Authorized  Version,  by  the  synonymes  "ground,"  "land," 
and  "earth."  Now,  the  attempt  to  read  into  the  phrase,  "the 
dust  of  the  ground,"  the  dust  which  God  had  previously  organ- 
ized into  the  carcass  of  the  anthropoid  ape,  cannot  succeed,  so 


44  SACBED  HISTORY. 

long  as  it  is  supported  by  nothing  more  persuasive  than  an 
unverified  hypothesis,  and  not  upheld  by  any  fair  or  natural 
interpretation  of  the  sacred  text. 

The  hypothesis  accepts  the  word  "rib"  out  of  which  the 
woman's  body  was  formed,  in  its  literal  sense :  why  not  give 
the  same  literal  sense  to  the  word  "  dust  of  the  ground,"  out 
of  which  the  man's  body  was  formed?  Again,  the  creation 
of  Eve  was  confessedly  an  immediate  act  of  God :  why,  in 
the  absence  of  any  thing  in  the  record  to  the  contrary,  should 
not  the  same  be  said  of  the  creation  of  Adam?  We  are 
taught  by  both  Moses  and  Christ  to  apply  the  same  word  to 
both.  Moses  said,  "  Male  and  female  created  he  them."  Christ 
said,  "From  the  beginning  of  the  creation,  God  made  them 
male  and  female  "  (Mark  x.  6).  And  the  unities  are  all  pre- 
served by  the  contrast  which  Luke  sets  forth  between  the  birth 
of  Seth  by  ordinary  generation,  and  the  supernatural  origin  of 
Adam :  "  Seth,  which  was  the  son  of  Adam,  which  was  the  son 
of  God"  (Luke  iii.  38).  The  believer  may  rest  securely  in  the 
strict  and  literal  sense  of  the  inspired  deliverance,  "God  cre- 
ated man  in  his  own  image,"  and  "  the  Loed  God  formed  man 
of  the  dust  of  the  ground." 

The  original  dignity  of  man,  and  his  position  in  the  scale  of 
being,  was  fully  recognized  in  the  fitting-up  of  the  primeval  home 
in  Eden,  the  garden  planted  by  Jehovah.  Eden,  or  Delight, 
was  the  name  of  the  region ;  the  garden  itself  is  commonly 
called  Paradise.  The  exact  situation  of  Eden,  and  of  the 
garden  in  its  bosom,  has  not  been  determined.  The  question 
is  in  a  singular  posture.  On  the  one  hand,  the  description  is 
minute  and  precise.  The  garden  was  planted  to  the  eastward 
of  the  land  of  Canaan,  or  of  the  home  of  the  sacred  writer. 
It  was  watered  by  four  streams,  two  of  which  are  the  well-known 
Tigris  and  Euphrates.  The  text  employs  terms  belonging  to 
postdiluvian  geography,  showing  that  the  Deluge  made  no 
changes  in  the  face  of  the  country  sufficient  to  defeat  the  in- 
quiry. It  is,  moreover,  the  only  notice  preserved  of  the  geog- 
raphy before  the  Flood ;  and  its  position  in  the  narrative  seems 
to  indicate  that  it  was  inserted  in  order  to  explain  the  context. 


EBEN  AND  ITS   TREES.  45 

On  the  other  hand,  the  most  diligent  scholars  have  not  been 
able  to  identify  two  of  the  four  rivers,  the  Pison  and.  the  Gihon, 
or  the  two  lands  of  Havilah  and  Cush.  As  a  further  obscure 
point,  the  four  streams  are  not  called  rivers,  but  "  heads,"  and 
these  are  said  to  be  formed  by  the  stream  on  leaving  Eden. 
From  the  fulness  of  the  description  it  may  be  safely  inferred 
that  the  problem  will  be  finally  solved.  And  yet,  what  is 
obscure  in  its  conditions  shows  that  the  solution  will  not  be 
reached  until  the  geography  of  Eastern  Asia,  and  the  sacred 
text,  are  better  understood.^  No  such  doubts  beset  the  descrip- 
tion of  the  garden  itself. 

The  trees  there  were  of  three  kinds.  Jehovah  made  to  grow 
out  of  the  ground  every  tree  that  is  pleasant  to  the  sight  and 
good  for  food.  Beauty  for  the  eye  and  sweetness  for  the  taste 
crowned  the  abounding  supply  of  food.  The  lesson  was  that 
the  natural  life  of  man,  even  in  paradise,  was  sustained,  not 
from  within  himself,  but  by  food  which  God  provided  from 
without.  There  was  also  a  tree  in  the  midst  of  the  garden, 
called  the  tree  of  life.  Some  critics  suppose  that  it  was  so 
called  because  it  bore  fruit  perpetually,  like  certain  tropical 
trees  which  show  continually  upon  their  boughs  the  ripe  fruit, 
the  growing  fruit,  the  blossom,  and  the  bud.  This  may  be  true, 
but  it  does  not  exhaust  the  idea  of  the  tree  of  life.  Nor  is 
it  sufficient  to  say  that  its  only  efficacy  was  to  sustain  the  life 
of  the  body ;  this  object  was  secured  by  the  trees  first  named 
in  the  text.  We  ought  to  say  that  the  tree  of  life  was  a  sym- 
bol of  the  holy  life  which  man  had  received  from  God.  The 
use  of  its  fruit  was  to  nourish  the  life  of  holiness  sacramentally, 
just  as  the  bread  and  wine  in  the  supper,  received  by  faith, 
nourish  the  graces  of  the  believer.  As  often,  moreover,  as  our 
first  parents  ate  of  this  fruit,  they  were  reminded  that  they 
received,  day  by  day,  their  life  of  holiness  from  Him  in  whom 
alone  is  life.  Augustine  says,  "  There  was  in  other  trees  a 
nourishment  for  man,  but  in  this  also  a  sacrament.''''  A  symbol 
this  was  of  the  tree  in  the  new  creation :  "  To  him  that  over- 
cometh  will  I  give  to  eat  of  the  tree  of  life,  which  is  in  the 

1  J.  A.  Alexander  in  the  Princeton  Review,  1860,  pp.  94-98. 


46  SACRED   HISTOBY. 

midst  of  the  garden  "  (Rev.  ii.  7,  xxii.  2,  14).  There  was  also 
the  "tree  of  the  knowledge  of  good  and  evil."  The  design 
of  this  tree  was  wholly  moral.  It  was  appointed  to  be  the  test 
of  obedience ;  to  prove  whether  man  would  be  good  or  bad. 
Its  only  allowable  use  was  to  let  it  alone.  By  abstaining  from 
the  forbidden  fruit,  man  would  be  able  to  discern  between  the 
good  and  the  evil  through  a  kind  of  intuition,  after  the  manner 
of  the  holy  angels.  By  eating  that  fruit,  Adam  would  acquire 
the  knowledge  of  good  by  losing  it,  and  of  evil  by  experiencing 
it.  Calvin :  "  Knowledge  is  here  taken  in  a  bad  sense,  for  that 
wretched  experience  which  man  began  to  acquire  for  himself 
when  he  dej)arted  from  the  only  fountain  of  perfect  wisdom." 

The  special  ordinances  given  .to  man  in  paradise  are  four  in 
number,  1.  Dominion  is  mentioned  first.  The  original  char- 
ter of  man's  sovereignty  is  recorded  in  Gen.  i.  26-28.  This 
instrument  constituted  man  the  lord  of  the  lower  creation,  and 
clothed  him  with  absolute  authority  therein.  Sin  has  restricted 
and  enfeebled  his  sway.  But  even  now,  what  animal  walks  the 
earth  so  free  or  fierce  or  wild  that  it  is  not  subdued  or  slain  by 
man?  What  fish  of  the  sea  does  he  not  capture?  Avhat  fowl 
soars  so  high  in  the  air  that  he  does  not  bring  it  down  to  his 
feet?  What  clay  or  stone  or  metal  or  timber  does  he  not 
subject  to  his  purposes  of  utility  or  ornament?  He  arms  the 
forces  of  nature  —  fire,  air,  water  —  against  its  inert  materials, 
shaping  the  toughest,  reducing  the  hardest,  and  subduing  the 
most  refractory.  And  he  is  perpetually  pushing  his  conquests 
into  the  secret  recesses  of  nature,  and  into  new  fields  and 
departments  of  labor,  changing  from  age  to  age  the  face  of  the 
world  by  his  inventions  and  discoveries.  The  elementary 
forces  are  on  the  one  hand  resistless,  and  on  the  other  within 
certain  wide  limits  they  do  the  bidding  of  man.  But  this  grant 
contains  the  origin  or  germ  of  a  wider  dominion,  —  the  power  of 
civil  society  over  its  members.  This  is,  in  its  nature,  strictly 
absolute  and  irresistible.  The  state,  even  the  people  of  the 
most  unlimited  monarchy  on  earth,  is  stronger  in  the  long-run 
than  the  strongest  despot.  Civil  society,  then,  is  the  image  of 
God's  supreme  dominion  over  the  universe  of  things  and  forces 


FOUR  PRIMITIVE   ORDINANCES.  47 

and  beings.  Pursuing  this  course  of  thought,  Dr.  R.  J.  Breck- 
inridge observes  that  society  everywhere  distributes  its  func- 
tions of  government  into  the  legislative,  judicial,  and  execu- 
tive. These  functions  may  be  divided  and  exercised  by  separate 
bodies  of  magistracy,  or  united  and  exercised  by  a  single 
person ;  but  they  are  all  present  in  every  form  of  government, 
and  none  other  can  possibly  appear  in  any.  Still  further,  these 
functions  express  distinct  characteristics  of  man's  moral  and 
rational  nature.  His  reason  is  represented  in  the  legislative 
assembly ;  his  conscience  in  the  court  of  justice ;  and  his  will 
in  the  acts  of  the  executive.  Thus  we  reach  the  conclusion 
that  the  civil  magistracy  is,  in  some  good  sense,  an  image  and 
likeness  of  God  as  the  great  Lawgiver,  Judge,  and  Ruler  of  the 
universe.^ 

2.  The  ordinance  of  the  sabbath  comes  next  in  the  order  of 
these  Divine  appointments.  The  narrative  meets  face  to  face 
the  fiction  that  the  sabbath  originated  in  the  departure  of  the 
children  of  Israel  from  Egypt.  Nothing  can  be  plainer  than 
the  words  in  Gen.  ii.  2,  3.  First,  the  heavens  and  the  earth 
being  finished,  God  ceased  from  the  work  which  he  had  made. 
Next,  he  rested  from  his  work.  He  did  not  rest  by  reason  of 
weariness,  nor  to  recover  strength  expended  in  labor.  He 
rested,  or  reposed,  in  the  perfect  satisfaction  with  all  his  work 
which  he  had  made.  He  recognized  that  his  ideal  had  become 
real :  God  saw  every  thing  that  he  had  made,  and,  behold,  it 
was  very  good.  Again,  God  blessed  the  sabbath  day.  At  the 
creation  of  living  animals,  God  blessed  them ;  he  blessed  man 
also.  This  blessing  was  not  limited  to  those  individual  beings 
which  were  immediately  created  by  God,  but  was  intended 
for  all  the  following  generations.  In  like  manner  the  bless- 
ing on  the  first  sabbath  indicated  that  the  day,  down  to  the 
end  of  time,  was  a  gift  of  God  to  man  laden  with  blessings. 
Once  more,  God  hallowed  the  sabbath,  consecrating  the  day  to 
rest  from  labor,  to  holy  services  and  worship ;  setting  it  apart 
from  all  the  other  days  of  the  week,  and  thus  giving  to  it  a 
higher  significance.     The  sabbath  is  not  a  holiday,  but  a  holy 

1  Breckinridge  :  Subj.  Theol.,  408-411,  G51. 


48  SACRED  HISTORY. 

day ;  a  monument  of  the  primeval  blessedness  of  the  race,  and 
a  type  of  the  rest  that  remaineth  for  the  people  of  God. 

3.  The  ordinance  of  labor  was  also  appointed.  Labor  is  not 
a  part  of  the  penalty  of  sin.  While  man  stood  in  his  innocency, 
"  the  Lord  took  the  man,  and  put  him  into  the  garden  of  Eden 
to  dress  it  and  to  keep  it."  Sin  brought  a  curse  upon  toil. 
Labor,  before  the  first  sin,  was  expended  on  a  garden  most 
kindly  and  fruitful ;  toil  after  that  catastrophe  was  expended 
on  a  thorny  and  reluctant  soil ;  but  labor  was,  as  well  before  sin 
as  after,  the  appointment  of  God  to  man.  Labor  without  irk- 
someness  and  slavish  toil,  which  makes  rest,  otherwise  tedious, 
a  delightful  repose ;  which  is  itself  physical  enjoyment  and  the 
keenest  stimulus  and  relish  of  the  mind,  —  labor  was  one  of 
the  blessings  of  paradise. 

4.  Not  less  certain  is  it  that  marriage  was  an  ordinance  given 
to  man  in  his  estate  of  holiness  and  in  his  primeval  home  in  the 
garden.  The  marriage  of  one  man  to  one  woman,  whereby  they 
are  no  more  twain  but  one  flesh,  is  a  mystery  and  a  blessing 
which  was  contemplated  in  the  creation  of  man  in  one  person 
as  male  and  female,  and  in  the  formation  of  the  woman  out  of 
the  trunk  of  the  man.  The  institution  of  the  sabbath  opened 
the  way  for  intimate  communion  with  God  ;  even  so  marriage 
secured  the  most  intimate  and  sacred  associations  of  human 
society.  The  relation  of  husband  and  wife  springs  from  the 
very  constitution  of  humanity  ;  it  is  one  of  its  permanent  and 
indestructible  elements.  It  is  the  root  out  of  which  has  grown 
every  form  of  human  society,  first  the  family,  then  the  tribe. 
Out  of  the  tribe  has  sprung  the  state,  and  finally  the  church. 

Now,  these  four  ordinances  are  not  accidents  in  our  nature  or 
our  position.  Neither  of  them  was  an  after-thought,  nor  were 
they  introduced  one  by  one,  in  the  lapse  of  ages,  into  the  bosom 
of  the  human  race.  They  are  not  gifts  of  Divine  grace  imparted 
to  man  as  a  sinner  in  his  sins,  or  as  a  sinner  saved  from  his 
sins.  They  were  granted  to  man  as  man,  in  the  very  beginning. 
Their  necessity  is  deeply  laid  in  the  structure  of  his  being. 
They  are  incorporated  among  the  essential  and  enduring  ele- 
ments of  life  on  earth.     They  belong  to  all  men  everywhere ; 


ORDINANCES  ALL   NECESSARY.  49 

the  common,  inalienable  inheritance  of  humanity ;  the  arrange- 
ments made  by  the  one  only  living  and  true  God  for  the  welfare 
of  man  when,  as  yet,  the  race  existed  in  the  person  of  one  godlike 
man,  and  for  all  who  should  descend  from  him  to  replenish  and 
subdue  the  earth.  In  the  absence  of  either  of  the  four  institu- 
tions, society  could  not  exist.  It  is  difficult  to  say  which  loss 
would  be  most  fatal,  —  the  loss  of  dominion  over  the  earth  and 
the  living  things  that  move  upon  it ;  or  the  loss  of  the  sabbath 
day  as  a  day  of  rest  and  worship  ;  or  the  loss  of  the  productive 
labor,  skilled  and  clumsy,  with  its  products ;  or  the  loss  of 
marriage,  terminating  in  unrestrained  concubinage. 

There  is  a  fifth  primeval  ordinance,  known  as  the  covenant 
of  works.  Its  historical  position  and  significancy  give  it  a 
place  not  inferior  to  those  that  have  been  mentioned.  But  on 
account  of  what  is  peculiar  in  its  characteristics  it  must  receive 
a  separate  treatment. 


50  SACRED   HISTORY. 


CHAPTER    IV. 

THE  FALL. 

To  the  four  Divine  ordinances  given  in  paradise  and  already 
mentioned,  God  was  pleased  to  add  another  in  the  nature  of  a 
covenant.  This  constitution  is  commonly  called  the  covenant 
(Jb  of  works,  pointing  to  its  condition,  perfect  obedience.  In  this, 
and  in  all  the  other  covenants  set  forth  in  the  Scriptures,  God 
gives,  man  receives  ;  a  guaranty  that  these  institutions  were 
ordained  in  infinite  wisdom,  holiness,  and  love. 

Of  the  covenant  of  works,  these  are  the  elements :  The 
parties  were  God,  acting  without  the  intervention  of  a  mediator, 
and  man,  acting  for  himself  and  for  his  posterity,  as  their  natu- 
ral head  and  representative.  The  condition  of  the  covenant  on 
man's  part  was  perfect  obedience  to  the  revealed  will  of  God. 
Adam  was  subjected  also  to  an  outward  and  decisive  test  of 
that  obedience.  The  promise  made  to  Adam,  on  condition 
of  obedience,  was  life,  natural,  spiritual,  and  eternal,  for  himself 
and  his  posterity.  The  penalty  of  the  first  man's  disobedience 
was  death,  natural,  spiritual,  and  eternal,  for  himself  and  his 
posterity.  i\loreover,  life  and  death  hung  upon  a  single  trial,  — 
one  for  all.  And  it  is  reasonable  to  infer  that  a  definite  period 
of  probation  was  appointed.  Had  Adam  continued  obedient 
through  that  period,  we  may  safely  believe  that  neither  he  nor 
any  of  his  posterity  would  have  ever  been  exposed  to  the 
danger  of  sinning.  The  seal  of  the  covenant  is  commonly 
believed  to  have  been  the  tree  of  life. 

Man's  first  disobedience,  and  the  dealings  of  God  with  him, 
are  minutely  described  in  the  record.  The  facts,  in  the  order 
of  their  occurrence,  are  these :   I.  A  test  of  obedience  was  set 


COVENANT  OF   WORKS.  51 

before  our  first  parents,  in  the  tree  of  tlie  knowledge  of  good 
and  evil.  They  were  under  obligation  to  obey  God  in  all 
things.  But  they  were  distinctly  commanded  not  to  eat  of  the 
fruit  of  that  particular  tree.  Their  conduct  in  relation  to  this 
command  would  determine  whether  or  not  they  were  ready  to 
obey  their  Creator  in  whatever  he  should  require  or  forbid. 
Was  this  a  reasonable  and  suitable  prohibition  ? 

(1)  To  this  inquiry,  the  first  reply  may  well  be  that  Adam 
was  not  a  mere  child,  destitute  of  foresight  and  insight ;  he 
was  not  a  youth,  rash  and  ignorant :  but  he  was  a  mature  man, 
mature  in  knowledge  and  discretion,  with  the  gift  of  reason  and 
articulate  speech.  (2)  He  was  holy.  He  was  not,  like  his 
descendants,  prone  to  sin,  and  cursed  with  corrupt  appetites 
and  affections.  The  image  of  God  in  knowledge,  righteousness, 
and  true  holiness,  was  unmarred  in  his  bosom.  The  book  of  his 
heart  began  with  no  blank  leaves  ;  the  law  of  God  was  written 
on  every  one  of  them.  It  is  not  enough  to  say  of  him,  that  he 
was  able  not  to  sin,  for  his  disposition  was  towards  perfect 
obedience  to  God.  So  eminent  were  the  advantages  with  which 
he  went  into  the  trial,  that  it  is  one  of  the  insoluble  problems  of 
human  nature  how,  being  holy,  being  in  the  image  of  God,  he 
could  be  led  into  disobedience.  (3)  He  held  direct  intercourse 
with  God.  At  the  moment  of  his  creation  he  received  the 
Divine  benediction  and  the  grant  of  dominion.  God  confirmed 
that  grant  by  bringing  all  the  beasts  and  fowls  to  Adam,  to  see 
what  he  would  call  them.  And  in  the  cool  of  the  day,  the  man 
heard  the  voice  of  the  Lord  God,  who  was  walking  in  the  garden 
and  seeking  communion  with  the  creatures  made  in  his  likeness. 

(4)  The  man  was  sufficiently  forewarned.  God  pointed  out 
the  tree  that  was  forbidden  ;  ordered  him,  in  direct  terms,  not 
to  eat  of  its  fruit ;  and  told  him,  plainly,  that  death  would  be 
the  penalty  of  disobedience.  He  knew  the  tree,  the  prohibition, 
and  the  penalty.  There  could  be  no  misunderstanding  here ; 
and,  in  point  of  fact,  there  was  none.     None  was  ever  alleged. 

(5)  Every  lawful  enjoyment  was  offered  to  the  man.  For 
his  sentient  nature,  plenty,  fragrance,  and  beauty  were  poured 
forth  around  him.     For  bis  social  nature,  the  companionship  of 


52  S ACRED  HIS  TORT. 

his  wife,  a  help  every  way  meet  for  him,  was  provided.  For 
his  rational  and  religious  nature,  God  revealed  himself  to  his 
understanding,  and  set  before  him  the  hope  of  endless  life. 
What  more  could  heart  desire  ?  Why  go  after  forbidden 
enjoyment?  (6)  The  duty  enjoined  was  not  difficult.  No 
great  labor  was  required,  no  intense  strain  on  body  or  mind, 
no  act  of  supreme  courage  in  confronting  danger,  or  of  fortitude 
in  bearing  pain  ;  nothing  but  abstinence  from  the  fruit  of  one 
tree  among  the  many  trees  in  the  garden,  all  of  them  ladqn 
with  the  consummate  fruits  and  flowers  of  a  soil  and  climate 
blessed  of  God.  (7)  The  test  was  simple  and  intelligible.  It 
required  no  severe  process  of  thought  to  ascertain  what  was 
forbidden.  There  was  no  room  for  doubt  or  perplexity.  The 
matter  rested  on  no  metaphysical  or  philosophical  investigation. 
In  substance,  God  said,  "  Behold  that  tree  :  of  that  thou  shalt 
not  eat ;  of  every  other  tree  of  the  garden  thou  mayest  freely 
eat,  but  not  of  that  tree  ;  in  the  clay  that  thou  eatest  thereof 
thou  shalt  surely  die  I  "  Both  the  man  and  the  woman  under- 
stood the  whole  case.  For,  the  woman  said  to  the  serpent, 
"  God  hath  said,  Ye  shall  not  eat  of  it,  neither  touch  it,  lest 
ye  die."  Is  it  conceivable,  asks  the  sceptic,  that  God  sus- 
pended such  far-reaching  consequences  on  so  slight  an  issue  ? 
To  this  question  the  answer  is,  first,  that  the  command  was 
admirably  adapted  to  the  end  proposed,  because  it  set  forth  a 
naked  test  of  obedience.  Will  the  man  obey  God,  in  a  thing 
indifferent,  for  the  sake  of  obeying?  The  trial  is  cleared  of 
every  question  of  morals  that  can  obscure  the  duty  of  unquali- 
fied obedience  ;  the  act  forbi^lden  is  wrong  simply  because  it  is 
forbidden.  Now,  will  the  man  obey  the  absolute  will  of  God, 
or  will  he  follow  his  own  inclinations  ?  The  second  reply  may 
be,  that  the  smallness  of  the  gratification  sought  by  the  trans- 
gressors shows  most  clearly  their  sin  and  folly.  Their  personal 
guilt,  with  its  folly,  has  betrayed  itself  continually  in  their 
posterity.  Esau  parted  with  his  birthright  at  a  price  miserably 
cheap.  In  the  days  of  Joel,  the  people  sold  a  boy  to  a  harlot 
for  a  single  indulgence,  and  a  girl  for  a  drink  of  wine  (Joel 
iii.  3).     Judas,  in  the  language  of  Dr.  Chalmers,  "went  to  hell 


TEMPTATION  OF  EVE.  53 

in.  a  small  way."  And  to  this  day  men  sell  themselves  for 
naught  into  the  bondag-e  of  sin  and  death. 

II.  In  its  description  of  the  tempter  and  the  temptation,  the 
record  brings  Eve  into  the  foreground.  The  tempter  approached 
Eve  first  of  all.  She  parleyed  with  him,  she  hesitated,  and  was 
lost.  Such  is  the  testimony  of  Moses  in  the  narrative.  Paul 
also,  speaking  not  only  on  the  authority  of  Moses,  but  bj- 
personal  inspiration  likewise,  says,  "Adam  was  not  deceived, 
but  the  woman  being  deceived  was  in  the  transgression."  The 
apostle,  having  made  himself  responsible  for  the  fact,  deduces 
from  it  the  rule  by  which  the  position  of  woman  in  the  Church 
is  determined  (1  Tim.  ii.  11-14). 

The  tempter  was  the  Devil,  using  the  serpent  as  his  tool. 
Satan  was  not  transformed  into  a  serpent :  he  became  incarnate 
in  the  reptile,  as  in  Christ's  day  he  entered  into  man  and  beast. 
The  serpent  is  called  a  beast  of  the  field;  he  was  sentenced 
to  crawl  on  his  belly,  and  eat  dust  all  the  days  of  his  life.  He 
was  subtle  and  wily  and  insidious,  watching  for  the  moment  in 
which  to  inflict  the  fatal  wound.  He  had  the  means  of  bruising 
the  heel  of  the  woman's  seed,  and  he  was  provided  with  a  head 
which  could  be  bruised.  In  the  New  Testament  it  is  related 
that  the  devils  once  voluntarily  entered  into  a  herd  of  swine ; 
in  the  garden  the  Devil  became  incarnate  in  the  serpent, — 
spectacles,  both,  of  deliberate  spontaneous  degradation. 

The  real  tempter  was  the  Devil.  (1)  All  the  testimony 
points  to  this  conclusion.  Consider  the  craft  displayed  by  the 
Evil  One.  He  used  reason  and  articulate  speech.  He  argued 
out  the  case  with  Eve ;  he  stimulated  her  curiosity,  pride,  and 
ambition ;  he  played  upon  the  weakness  of  her  human  and 
womanly  nature.  He  sneered  at  her  scruples,  and  cast  covert 
insinuations  on  the  uprightness  of  the  Almighty,  —  conducting 
the  whole  interview  with  fiendlike  cunning.  The  intelligent, 
bold,  and  lying  spirit  by  whom  this  Avas  accomplished,  is  called 
in  Scripture  the  Devil.  (2)  The  same  conclusion  is  derived 
from  the  curse  pronounced  on  the  serpent,  to  the  effect  that 
the  seed  of  the  woman  shall  bruise  the  serpent's  head.  Nobody 
can  believe  that  this  word  is  fulfilled  in  the  war  made  by  man- 


54  S ACRED  HISTORY. 

kind  upon  Snakes.  (3)  The  tempter  and  his  organ  are  treated 
as  distinct,  and  yet  blended,  in  the  New  Testament.  Christ 
declares  that  the  Devil  was  "  a  murderer  from  the  beginning," 
"a  liar,  and  the  father  of  it"  (John  viii.  44).  Paul  says  "the 
serpent  beguiled  Eve  through  his  subtilty"  (2  Cor.  xi.  3). 
John  speaks  of  the  "  great  dragon,"  and  of  "  the  dragon,  that 
old  serpent,  which  is  the  Devil,  and  Satan  "  (Rev.  xii.  9,  xx.  2). 
Undoubtedly  the  tempter  was  the  wicked  spirit;  he  entered 
into  the  serpent,  and  in  that  disguise  deceived  our  first  parents. 
The  method  by  which  he  effected  his  purpose  is  vividly  de- 
scribed.    The  conversation  was  opened  by  the  tempter. 

Satan.  —  Yea,  hath  God  said,  Ye  shall  not  eat  of  every  tree 
of  the  garden?  He  concealed  his  allusion  to  the  forbidden  tree, 
under  the  euphemism,  "  every  tree  of  the  garden."  He  insinu- 
ated the  doubt  whether  God  had  in  point  of  fact  uttered  the 
prohibition ;  and  he  intimated  that  in  any  event  it  was  arbitrary 
and  unreasonable. 

Eve.  —  We  may  eat  of  the  fruit  of  the  trees  of  the  garden  ;  hut 
of  the  fruit  ivhich  is  in  the  midst  of  the  garden,  God  hath  said. 
Ye  shall  not  eat  of  it,  neither  shall  ye  touch  it,  lest  ye  die.  Instead 
of  bidding  the  tempter.  Begone !  she  listened.  And  in  the 
phrase  which  she  interpolated,  "  neither  shall  ye  touch  it,"  she 
exaggerated  the  prohibition,  intimating  that  she  thought  it  too 
stringent,  and  that  she  had  begun  to  drink  in  the  poison  of  dis- 
content and  distrust.     The  serpent  instantly  saw  his  advantage. 

Satan.  —  Ye  shall  by  no  means  die  !  An  insolent  imputation 
to  God  of  false  speaking. 

Eve  made  no  reply.  Having  trifled  with  the  word  of  God, 
she  was  ready  to  disbelieve  it  altogether.  The  serpent  inter- 
preted her  silence  aright,  and  spoke  again. 

Satan.  —  But  God  doth  know  that  in  the  day  ye  eat  thereof 
your  eyes  will  he  opened,  and  ye  will  he  like  God,  knowing  good 
and  evil.  That  is  to  say :  It  is  not  because  the  fruit  of  the  tree 
will  injure  you,  that  God  has  forbidden  you  to  eat  of  it,  but 
from  ill-will  and  envy,  because  he  does  not  mean  that  you  shall 
be  like  himself.^ 

1  Keil  and  Delitzsch  in  loco. 


THE  FALL.  55 

At  that  moment  Eve  was  tempted  by  her  senses  and  appetite, 
as  well  as  by  pride.  "  The  woman  saw  that  the  tree  was  good 
for  food,  and  that  it  was  pleasant  to  the  eyes,"  and  that  it  was 
a  "tree  to  be  desired  to  make  one  wise."  The  Devil  was  a 
murderer  from  the  beginning.  He  was  a  liar  also,  repeatedly 
paltering  with  words  in  the  double  sense.  His  assurance,  "Ye 
shall  not  surely  die,"  was  both  true  and  false.  It  was  true  in 
regard  to  the  instantaneous  execution  of  the  penalty ;  but  false 
in  the  end,  and  false  in  regard  to  the  spiritual  death  which 
instantly  followed  the  transgression,  and  the  eternal  death  of 
both  soul  and  body.  "  Your  eyes  shall  be  opened,"  said  Satan. 
Their  eyes  were  opened,  as  he  said ;  but  what  they  saw  was 
their  nakedness  and  guilt.  "  Ye  shall  be  as  gods,  knowing  good 
and  evil."  This  promise  was  kept  to  the  ear;  but  broken  to  the 
hope,  in  what  they  lost  and  what  they  got.  What  they  lost 
was  the  intuition  of  the  good  and  the  evil  which  belonged  to 
the  image  of  God,  in  which  they  were  created ;  what  they  got 
was  the  knowledge  which  comes  with  the  conscious  loss  of 
innocence.  Before  they  sinned,  they  were  wise  after  the  wisdom 
of  holy  angels ;  after  the  transgression,  they  were  wise  after  the 
experience  of  the  fallen  angels.  The  tempter  persuaded  her 
that  knowledge  and  understanding  were  to  be  found  in  the 
taste  of  the  forbidden  fruit.  It  would  solve  for  her  the  great 
mystery  of  the  good  and  the  evil.  And  perhaps  her  curiosity 
and  self-will  were  stimulated  by  the  fact  that  it  was  forbidden 
fruit.  The  tempter  hinted  that  her  eyes  had  been  closed  un- 
reasonably, by  the  Creator,  on  some  wonder  in  the  sphere  of 
thought.  She  distrusted  God,  and  believed  the  serpent.  Her 
eyes  were  opened.  What  did  she  see  ?  Her  nakedness  and 
shame. 

III.  The  Fall.  —  The  triumph  of  the  adversary,  and  the 
ruin  of  the  race,  instantly  became  complete  :  "  She  took  the 
fruit  thereof,  and  did  eat,  and  gave  also  to  her  husband  with 
her,  and  he  did  eat."  It  has  been  thought  that  a  radical  differ- 
ence between  the  temptation  and  sin  of  the  woman  and  the 
temptation  and  sin  of  the  man  is  established  by  the  testimony 
of  Paul :    "  The  serpent  beguiled  Eve  through  his  subtilty ;  " 


66  SACEED  HISTORY. 

"  Adam  was  not  deceived,  but  the  woman  being  deceived  was 
in  the  transgression"  (2  Cor.  xi.  3 ;  1  Tim.  ii.  14).  But  these 
declarations  do  not  prove  that  Satan  alone  tempted  the  woman, 
and  the  woman  alone  tempted  the  man.  Least  of  all  do  they 
teach,  what  a  well-known  commentator  suggests,  that  "the 
temptation,  as  actually  applied  to  her,  would  have  been  ineffect- 
ual on  him."  The  phrase  ii\  Genesis  must  not  be  overlooked : 
"  She  gave  to  her  husband  with  her.''  He  was  probably  present 
at  the  time,  consenting  to  what  she  said  and  did.  She  took  the 
lead  in  the  guilty  act ;  she  joined  her  solicitations  with  the  soli- 
citations of  the  tempter ;  but  the  guilt  of  man  and  of  woman 
Avas  substantially  the  same.  The  husband  ought  to  have  pro- 
tected his  wife  from  the  enemy  and  from  herself.  To  the  full 
extent  in  which  he  was  personally  influenced  by  the  Devil,  and 
in  which  he  failed  to  defend  the  purity  of  his  wife,  he  is  con- 
sidered by  all  good  men  dishonored  and  guilty.  We  are  plainly 
told  in  ScrijDture  that  God  held  the  man  responsible  for  himself 
and  his  posterity  (Rom.  v.  12-21 ;  1  Cor.  xv.  22-45).  It  ap- 
pears, moreover,  that  not  until  both  had  eaten,  were  the  eyes 
of  both  simultaneously  opened.  They  sinned  and  suffered 
together. 

From  this  explanation,  it  is  plain  that  the  root  of  the  first 
disobedience  was  unbelief.  The  man  and  woman  were  led  by 
the  enemy  to  believe  that  the  word  of  God,  annexing  death  to 
transgression,  was  an  idle  threat.  They  impeached,  in  thought, 
the  goodness  of  God  in  withholding  what  would  make  them 
wise,  and  his  fair  dealing  in  denying  to  them  the  knowledge  of 
good  and  evil  by  virtue  of  which  they  should  become  like  God 
himself.  By  their  unbelief  they  made  God  a  liar,  capricious 
and  unjust.  One  step  more  completed  their  ruin.  Out  of  the 
evil  heart  of  unbelief  proceeded  the  deliberate  act  of  disobedi- 
ence. Here  we  discover  the  ground  on  which  it  is  declared  in 
the  word  of  God,  that  unbelief  is  the  root  of  every  form  of  sin, 
and  faith,  its  opposite,  is  the  earnest  of  every  saving  grace. 
Adam's  life  of  disobedience  began  with  unbelief;  our  life  of 
new  obedience  begins  with  faith.  What  prodigious  force  does 
this  narrative  lend  to  the  saying  of  Christ  in  regard  to  the 


FIRST  RESULTS   OF  THE  FALL.  67 

salvation  of  those  who  believe,  and  the  perdition  of  those  who 
believe  not ! 

The  radical  change  of  heart  from  holiness  to  depravity,  from 
spiritual  life  to  spiritual  death,  which  took  place  in  the  fallen 
pair,  immediately  betrayed  itself.  (1)  They  suffered  under  the 
sense  of  moral  degradation.  Their  eyes  were  opened,  and  they 
"saw  that  they  were  naked."  While  they  stood  in  primeval 
innocence,  they  stood  also  in  what  Milton  calls  the  "  first  naked 
glory "  of  the  human  body,  and  were  not  ashamed.  But  as 
soon  as  they  sinned,  their  nakedness  became  associated  with 
the  consciousness  of  guilt,  and  they  were  overwhelmed  with 
shame.  The  inseparable  connection  between  their  sin  and  their 
shame  was  pointed  out  by  the  Creator :  "  Who  told  thee  that 
thou  wast  naked?  Hast  thou  eaten  of  the  tree  whereof  I 
commanded  thee  that  thou  shouldest  not  eat?  "  The  coherence 
of  the  narrative  appears  in  the  fact  of  their  nakedness  (Gen.  ii. 
25),  the  discovery  of  that  nakedness  (iii.  7),  and  the  remedy 
of  that  nakedness  (iii.  21).  (2)  They  experienced  the  dread 
of  judgment.  They  hid  themselves  from  God's  presence  among 
the  trees  of  the  garden.  Terror  in  the  presence  of  God,  like 
the  shame  of  nakedness,  was  inseparable  from  the  sense  of 
guilt.  (3)  They  became  deceitful,  drinking  in  the  subtle 
poison  of  Satan's  duplicity.  When  asked  by  the  Almighty 
why  they  were  hiding  themselves,  they  kept  back  their  guilt 
and  prattled  of  their  modesty.  (4)  They  became  shuffling  and 
insolent.  Adam  laid  the  blame  of  his  sin  partly  on  his  wife 
and  partly  on  God,  showing  that  he  was  both  impious  and  had 
lost  what  men  call  the  sense  of  honor.  "  The  serpent  beguiled 
me,"  said  Eve,  "  and  I  did  eat."  She  concealed  her  dalliance 
with  the  tempter,  and  she  offered  no  excuse  for  beguiling  her 
husband.  This  train  of  thought  distinctly  suggests  the  antithe- 
sis between  the  death  of  the  body  and  its  resurrection,  and  the 
antithesis  between  the  change  of  heart,  wrought  by  the  first  sin, 
from  holiness  to  depravity,  and  the  change  of  heart,  wrought 
by  the  Holy  Spirit,  from  depravity  to  holiness.  This  double 
and  counter-revolution  in  human  nature  enters  largely  into  the 
history  of  redemption. 


58  SACBED  HISTORY. 

Our  course  of  thought  raises  the  inquiry  as  to  the  origin  of 
man's  apostasy.  The  answer  of  Pelagianism  is  that  God  could 
not,  without  destroying  Adam's  free  agency,  prevent  him  from 
falling,  and  that  he  sinned  simply  because  he  chose  so  to  do. 
But  this  answer  antagonizes  the  many  scriptures  which  teach 
that  God  secures  the  final  perseverance  of  the  saints,  and  that 
he  will  keep  the  redeemed  in  heaven  from  sinning  any  more. 
jNIanicheeism  would  answer  and  say  that  Satan  was  Avholly  inde- 
pendent of  the  Almighty,  and  that  he  constrained  man  to  sin 
by  virtue  of  his  own  irresistible  power.  This  answer  deserves 
no  attention.  Some  divines,  in  the  main  orthodox,  hold  that 
God,  by  his  du'ect  influence  and  for  his  own  glory,  moved  and 
impelled  man  to  sin.  But  the  reply  to  that  is,  "  God  cannot  be 
tempted  of  evil,  neither  tempteth  he  any  man  "  (Jas.  i.  13). 
The  explanation  of  God's  word  is  set  forth  precisely  in  the 
Westminster  Standards:  "Man  in  his  state  of  innocency  had 
freedom  and  power  to  will  and  to  do  that  which  was  good  and 
well-pleasing  to  God;  yet  mutably,  so  that  he  might  fall  from 
it."  He  was  made  a  dependent  being,  and  as  such  was  upheld 
in  holiness  only  by  the  power  of  God.  "  Our  first  parents, 
being  left  to  the  freedom  of  their  own  will,  through  the  temp- 
tation of  Satan,  transgressed  the  commandment  of  God,  in 
eating  the  forbidden  fruit,  and  thereby  fell  from  the  state  of 
innocency  wherein  they  were  created."  ^  Why  God  permitted 
this  catastrophe,  must  be  answered  in  the  words,  "  Even  so, 
Father,  for  so  it  seemed  good  in  thy  sight."  It  should  not  be 
forgotten  that  the  real  difficulty  lies  back  of  man's  first  sin, 
even  in  the  apostasy  of  the  evil  spirits,  and,  through  that 
apostasy,  the  admission  of  sin  into  the  universe.  Man  sinned 
under  the  solicitations  of  one  of  these  fallen  angels.  How 
came  that  angel  to  fall,  unprompted,  unsolicited,  untempted, 
kept  in  holiness  we  know  not  how  long,  standing  in  the  life  full 
of  glory  ?  We  can  give  no  other  account  of  this  guilt  than  by 
saying  that  the  angels,  being  creatures,  were  dependent  on  the 
Creator,  and  that  God,  for  reasons  not  revealed,  left  them  to 
the  freedom  of  their  own  wills,  and  they  destroyed  themselves. 
1  West.  Conf.  of  Faith,  chap.  ix.    Larg.  Cat.,  Q.  21. 


3IAN  FALLEN,   JUDGED,   EXILED.  59 

Afterwards  man,  under  the  temptations  of  the  fallen  angels, 
likewise  fell.  The  beginning  of  this  awful  series  of  events, 
the  first  sin  of  the  holy  angels,  is  the  profoundest  mystery 
of  the  creation.  And  yet  it  went  before,  if  it  did  not  lead  to, 
the  apostasy  of  our  first  parents.  Lenormant  remarks,  "  This 
dogma  of  the  fall  of  the  human  race,  through  the  bad  use  that 
its  earliest  progenitors  made  of  their  free .  will,  remains  an 
eternal  truth  which  is  nowhere  brought  out  with  the  same 
precision.  It  affords  the  only  solution  of  the  formidable  prob- 
lem which  constantly  returns  to  rear  itself  before  the  human 
mind,  and  which  no  religious  philosophy  outside  of  revelation 
has  ever  been  able  to  solve." 

IV.  The  Judgment.  —  The  Almighty  proceeded  to  pass 
sentence  on  the  parties.  On  the  tempter  he  pronounced  an 
inexorable  curse.  On  the  woman  the  sentence  was  twofold: 
pain  in  childbearing,  and  subjection  to  man.  For  the  man,  the 
ground  cursed  for  his  sake,  unceasing  toil,  and  in  the  end  death, 
were  his  portion.  Instantly,  on  the  very  day  of  the  transgres- 
sion, both  the  man  and  the  woman  came  under  the  power  of 
death.  The  body  became  mortal,  the  soul  died  in  trespasses 
and  sins,  and  body  and  soul  were  exposed  to  everlasting  perdi- 
tion. They  became  corrupt.  They  experienced  not  only  a 
change  of  condition,  but  a  change  of  nature.  They  were  guilty, 
in  the  sense  of  liability  to  punishment ;  and,  still  further,  they 
were  totally  depraved,  and  made  opposite  to  all  that  is  spiritu- 
ally good.  The  Pelagian  thought  that  the  death  of  the  body 
was  a  primeval  law  of  human  nature,  and  that  Adam  would 
have  died  even  if  he  had  not  sinned,  receives  no  support  from 
the  Word  of  God.  The  longevity  of  the  patriarchs  in  the  first 
two  thousand  years  indicates  that  the  powers  of  an  endless  life 
were  gradually  exhausted.  The  statements  in  1  Cor.  xv.,  and 
in  other  places  in  the  doctrinal  epistles,  show  that  death  is  a 
penal  evil,  inflicted  on  man  because  he  sinned. 

V.  The  Expulsion.  —  God  drove  the  guilty  pair  from  the 
garden.  This  was  not  merely  a  dismissal,  but  penal  and  final 
banishment.  Cherubim  were  posted  at  the  garden-gate.  Near 
by  the  cherubim,  though  not  in  their  hands,  a  flashing  sword 


60  SACRED  HISTORY. 

appeared,  and  was  continually  brandished  in  every  direction. 
The  cherubim  and  the  sword  kept  back  the  transgressors  from 
approaching  the  garden.  The  sword  was  a  symbol  of  Divine 
justice.  The  cherubim  were  beings  from  a  higher  world,  in  the 
form  of  living  creatures.  They  are  represented  as  surrounding 
the  throne  of  God,  both  in  the  visions  of  Ezekiel  and  the  Reve- 
lation of  John.  The  Hebrew  word  used  here  is  the  root  of  the 
term  shekinah,  pointing  to  God's  manifested  presence.  It  may, 
perhajjs,  be  inferred  that  the  place  of  the  cherubim  was  set 
apart  for  Divine  worship.  Certain  it  is  that  the  cherubim  were 
subsequently  set  up  in  the  holy  of  holies,  shadowing  the  mercy- 
seat,  the  throne  of  God.  Their  figures  were  wrought  on  the 
curtains  of  the  tabernacle,  and  were  engraved  on  the  walls  and 
doors  of  the  temple.  This  would  explain  what  Cain  said  to  the 
Lord  in  his  exile,  "  From  thy  face  shall  I  be  hid ; "  and  what 
is  said  of  him,  "  Cain  went  out  from  the  presence  of  the  Lord." 
We  may  interpret,  therefore,  the  flaming  sword  as  the  symbol 
of  justice,  and  the  cherubim  as  the  images  of  mercy  and  hope. 
Behind  them,  and  guarded  by  them,  was  the  garden,  in  its  full 
beauty  and  glory.  The  covenant  of  works  was  no  longer  the 
covenant  of  life.  The  probation  was  ended ;  the  reward  was 
lost ;  the  penalty  was  incurred.  Li  process  of  time,  the  garden 
disappeared,  and  with  it  the  tree  of  life  and  the  forbidden  tree. 
The  cherubim  also,  and  the  sword,  the  symbols  of  God's  mercy 
and  justice,  were  finally  withdrawn. 

All  these  penal  consequences  came  upon  the  posterity  of  the 
fallen  pair.  Their  own  children  were  born  outside  of  the  gar- 
den, and  we  all  share  their  exile.  We,  their  remote  descendants, 
also  share  in  their  depraved  and  corrupted  nature.  The  sense 
of  guilt,  showing  itself  in  the  shame  of  nakedness,  afflicts  us 
all.  The  naked  condition  of  the  brute  creation  gives  no  offence 
to  the  most  fastidious ;  the  exposure  of  the  human  body  shocks 
the  sensibility  of  the  rudest.  The  terror  at  the  presence  of 
God,  the  loss  of  communion  with  God,  and  the  spirit  of  mur- 
muring against  God,  have  passed  from  our  parents  to  all  their 
descendants.  The  woman's  pains  in  childbearing,  her  subjec- 
tion to  her  husband ;  the  earth  cursed  for  man's  sake,  his  toil 


TRADITIONAL  ANALOGUES.  61 

and  sorrow,  his  bread  eaten  in  the  sweat  of  his  face,  his  return 
to  the  dust,  —  all  these  inflictions  became  the  unwasting  lega- 
cies of  the  generations  which  were  unborn  when  their  parents 
fell.  They  point  directly  to  the  truth  that  the  man  who  fell  in 
the  garden  was  the  root  of  all  mankind,  and  our  representative 
in  the  covenant  of  works.  In  Adam  all  sinned,  in  Inm  all  died. 
The  antiquarian  researches  of  modern  scholars  have  disclosed 
certain  distorted  traditions  of  paradise,  the  fall,  and  the  expul- 
sion, in  the  sacred  literature  of  the  ancient  peoples.  It  would 
be  easy  to  make  out  the  true  story  of  Eden,  by  comparing  and 
adjusting  the  echoes  that  come  to  us  from  the  pagan  world. 
The  primeval  purity  and  happiness  of  man  are  reflected  from 
the  literature  of  many  ages  and  nations.  The  tree  of  life,  and 
the  tree  of  knowledge,  are  represented  in  the  oral  traditions  of 
Persians,  Arabs,  and  Greeks,  and  in  the  bas-reliefs  or  cylinders 
of  Assyria  and  Babylon.  Signs  of  the  slimy  trail  of  the  serpent 
are  found  everywhere.  One  famous  ancient  Roman  sarcopha- 
gus "  shows  a  man  and  woman,  naked,  standing  at  the  foot  of 
a  tree,  from  which  the  man  is  about  to  take  some  fruit,  while 
the  demon,  who  has  tempted  him,  is  standing  near."  On  a 
Roman  bas-relief,  a  huge  serpent  is  coiled  round  the  trunk  of 
a  tree,  beneath  which  a  man  and  a  woman,  in  primitive  naked- 
ness, are  standing.  "  In  the  Scandinavian  legend,  Thor,  the 
first-born  of  the  highest  God,  a  mediator  between  him  and  men, 
.  .  .  breaks  the  head  of  the  great  serpent  with  his  club,  and 
finally  tramples  it  under  foot,  and  slays  it,  though  at  the  price 
of  his  own  life.  So  in  the  oldest  Hindoo  temples,  two  figures  of 
Krishna  are  seen ;  in  one  of  which  he  is  trampling  on  the 
crushed  head  of  the  serpent ;  while  in  the  other,  the  serpent 
clings  around  him,  and  bites  his  heel."  A  Babylonian  cylinder, 
brought  to  England  l)y  Layard,  represents  a  tree  with  two 
bunches  of  fruit  hanging  down,  a  man  sitting  on  one  side,  and 
a  woman  on  the  other,  both  reaching  their  hands  toAvards  the 
fruit,  and  behind  the  woman  is  a  serpent  erect.  According  to 
a  primitive  Persian  tradition,  man  was  created  hoi}',  but  the 
evil  spirit  seduced  first  the  woman,  and  then  the  man,  to  believe 
in  him  and  not  in  God.     The  tempter  grew  bold,  and  "  brought 


62  SACRED  HISTOET. 

them  fruits  which  they  ate,  and  by  eating  which  they  lost  all 
the  hundred  blessings  they  had  had,  save  one,  and  were  wicked 
and  unhappy.  Having  ere  long  discovered  fire  by  Divine  reve- 
lation, they  offered  the  first  sacrifice  of  sheep,  and  began  to  eat 
flesh,  and  to  clothe  themselves  with  the  skins  of  the  sheep,  and 
to  make  garments  of  their  hair."^  Dim  traditions  of  the 
cherubim  and  sword  have  also  been  preserved.  The  inquiry 
whether  serpent-worship  did  not  take  its  origin  from  Eden  is 
worthy  of  attention. 

These  primeval  temptations  are  not  without  analogies  in 
human  experience.  Stier  discovers  similar  evil  solicitations  in 
the  three  periods  of  man's  life  :  "  Enjoyment  entices  the  youth  ; 
honor,  the  man  ;  and  possession  or  power,  the  old."  The  Israel- 
ites in  the  wilderness  were  tempted  by  the  appetites,  longing 
for  the  flesh-pots  of  Egypt ;  by  hard  thoughts  of  God,  clamoring 
for  better  food  than  manna  from  heaven,  exclaiming,  "  Our 
souls  loathe  this  light  [literally^  despicable]  bread ; "  and  by 
unbelief,  refusing  to  go  up  and  possess  the  promised  land. 
Similar  comparisons  have  been  instituted  between  the  tempta- 
tions in  paradise,  and  the  worldly  lusts  described  by  John 
(1  John  ii.  16).  The  sight  of  the  tree  that  was  good  for  food 
excited  in  Eve  the  "  lust  of  the  flesh ; "  the  "  pleasant "  appear- 
ance of  the  same  tree  awakened  in  her  the  "  lust  of  the  eye ; " 
and  the  "  pride  of  life  "  was  represented  by  her  unholy  ambition 
to  be  "  as  gods." 

A  more  instructive  analogy  exists  between  the  temptation  of 
the  first  Adam  in  paradise,  and  the  second  Adam  in  the  wilder- 
ness. The  relation  which  the  two  Adams  sustained  to  each 
other,  to  the  human  race,  to  sin  and  redemption,  and  to  the 
covenants  of  works  and  of  grace,  entitles  this  comparison  to 
unusual  prominence.  On  both  occasions,  in  the  first  place,  the 
temptations  were  threefold.  Next,  Christ  and  Adam,  being 
holy,  were  tempted,  or  proved,  or  tried.  There  is  nothing 
morally  wrong  in  being  tempted  without  our  consent ;  the  sin 
consists  in  yielding  to  the  evil  solicitation.     Further,  in  both 

1  Geikie's  Hours  with  the  Bible,  i.  15,  seq.  Lenormant:  Contemp.  Rev.,  Sep- 
tember, 1879.    Len.,  etc.,  Anc.  History,  i.  10  seq. 


ANALOGY  OF  CHRIST'S   TEMPTATION:  63 

instances,  the  enemy  was  from  without,  and  was  Satan,  the 
adversary  of  the  race  and  of  the  Saviour.  Adam  was,  by  crea- 
tion, in  the  image  of  God ;  and  it  is  incredible  that  his  holy 
affections  generated  spontaneously  the  purpose  and  sin  of 
unbelief  and  disobedience.  Our  Lord  was,  by  virtue  of  his 
essential  nature,  very  God ;  and  it  would  be  blasphemous  to 
assume  that  there  was  in  Jesus  either  error  or  corrupt  affection. 
Still  further,  the  means  employed  were  the  same,  —  duplicity 
and  downright  lying.  The  serpent  assured  Eve  that  she  should 
not  die,  that  her  eyes  should  be  opened,  and  that  she  should  be 
as  God ;  all  of  which  assurances  were  essentially  false  through- 
out. After  the  same  strategy  of  fraud  and  lying,  Satan  promised 
to  give  to  Christ  all  the  kingdoms  of  the  world  "  if  thou  wilt 
fall  down  and  worship  me."  But  these  kingdoms  were  not 
Satan's  to  give  away.  Again,  the  temptations  were,  in  the 
nature  of  them,  analogous.  The  first  was  addressed  to  the 
appetite.  The  woman,  bewildered  by  the  cunning  of  the  ser- 
pent, saw  that  the  tree  was  good  for  food  and  pleasant  to  the 
eye.  Our  Lord  was  hungered  after  a  fast  of  forty  days,  and  the 
Devil  said,  "  Command  these  stones  that  they  be  made  bread." 
The  second  experiment,  in  Eden,  was  made  upon  the  inordinate 
curiosity  of  the  woman :  "  She  saw  that  the  tree  was  to  be  desired 
to  make  one  wise."  If  we  follow  the  order  of  events  in  Luke, 
we  learn  that  the  second  experiment  on  our  Lord  was  intended 
to  infuse  an  unholy  vanity  and  love  of  display  into  his  bosom  : 
"  If  thou  be  the  Son  of  God,  cast  thyself  down."  If  this  be  the 
proper  interpretation,  the  analogy  exists  in  the  pride  assumed 
by  the  enemy  to  be  in  the  hearts  of  the  tempted  ;  in  the  woman, 
the  pride  of  intellect ;  in  Christ,  a  pride  in  the  ministration 
of  angels.  Or,  as  an  alternative  to  the  rather  obscure  analogy, 
it  might  be  said,  that  in  both  cases  the  enemy  sought  to  entice 
the  tempted  into  the  sin  of  presumption.  The  third  temptation 
was  undoubtedly  intended  to  awaken,  if  possible,  profane  am- 
bition. To  the  woman,  the  adversary  said,  "Ye  shall  be  as 
gods."  To  the  Christ  he  offered,  in  exchange  for  one  act  of 
worship,  "  all  the  kingdoms  of  the  world." 

Before  leaving  this  part  of  the  history  we  should  compare 


64  SACRED  HISTORY. 

the  positions  of  the  first  and  the  second  man.  Adam,  being  the 
root  of  all  mankind,  was  appointed  in  the  covenant  of  works  to 
be  our  actual  representative  ;  Christ,  having  taken  our  nature, 
was  appointed  to  be  our  actual  representative  in  the  covenant 
of  grace.  Adam  was  tempted  and  fell,  and  ruined  us  all ;  Christ 
was  tempted,  and  was  yet  without  sin,  and  by  his  obedience 
unto  death  purchased  salvation  for  all  who  will  believe.  "  As, 
after  Adam's  first  transgression,  all, subsequent  sin  was  simply 
the  unfolding  of  the  original ;  so  this,  the  Saviour's  first  victory, 
appears  as  the  foundation  of  all  those  that  follow  after." 
"  Adam  fell  in  paradise,  and  made  it  a  wilderness  ;  Jesus  con- 
quered in  the  wilderness,  and  made  it  a  paradise,  where  the 
beasts  lost  their  wildness,  and  angels  took  up  their  abodes." 
The  apostasy  and  shame  of  Adam,  and  the  Divine  integrity  and 
glory  of  Jesus,  are  easily  explained.  The  first  Adam  was  a 
mere  man,  the  second  was  the  Lord  from  heaven. 


COVENANT  OF  GRACE.  65 


CHAPTER  V. 

THE  FIRST   GOSPEL. 

"  Man  having,  by  his  fall,  made  himself  incapable  of  life  by  the 
covenant  of  works,  the  Lord  vs^as  pleased  to  make  a  second, 
commonly  called  the  covenant  of  grace,  wherein  he  freely 
offered  unto  sinners  life  and  salvation  by  Jesus  Christ."  ^  This 
covenant  is  the  basis  of  human  redemption,  and  a  concise 
account  of  it  is  needful  in  this  place. 

The  parties  to  this  constitution  are  the  Father,  representing 
the  undivided  Godhead,  and  the  Son  representing  his  chosen 
people.  The  undertaking,  on  the  part  of  the  Son,  was  to 
assume  to  himself  human  nature,  to  stand  in  the  place  of  the 
elect,  in  the  broken  covenant  of  works,  so  far  as  to  fulfil  all  its 
obligations,  and  to  endure  its  penalty,  —  being  made  a  curse 
for  us.  The  engagement  made  by  the  Father  to  the  Son  included 
all  needed  support  in  his  atoning  work,  the  gift  of  an  innumer- 
able throng  of  redeemed  souls,  and  a  personal  exaltation  at  the 
right  hand  of  the  majesty  on  high.  The  requirements  imposed 
on  those  who  would  be  saved  are,  faith  in  Christ's  atoning 
blood,  a  faith  that  is  the  gift  of  God,  and  works  by  love,  and  is 
accompanied  by  repentance  for  sin  and  a  new  obedience.  Tlie 
l^romise  to  them  that  believe  includes  the  forgiveness  of  sins, 
the  graces  of  the  Spirit,  regeneration,  justification,  sanctifica- 
tion,  adoption,  final  perseverance,  the  resurrection  of  the  body, 
and  life  everlasting.  The  first  covenant  contemplated  man  as 
holy,  and  required  perfect  obedience  ;  the  second  covenant  con- 
templates man  as  a  sinner,  and  requires  him  to  believe  on  Jesus 
Christ.     Lastly,  the  blessings  of  the  new  covenant  were,  in  the 

i  "Westminster  Conf.,  vii.  3. 


66  S ACHED  BISTOBT. 

Old-Testament  Church,  sealed  to  believers  by  the  sacraments  of 
circumcision  and  the  passover ;  in  the  Christian  Church,  by  the 
sacraments  of  baptism  and  the  Lord's  Supper. 

The  covenant  of  grace  was  disclosed  to  the  fallen  pair  at 
the  time  when  they  and  the  tempter  were  arraigned  for  the  first 
transgression.  The  man  and  the  woman  answered  separately. 
The  answer  of  each  began  with  a  shuffling  apology,  and  ended 
with  a  confession  of  guilt.  The  serpent  offered  no  defence  ; 
indeed,  he  was  not  interrogated.  The  Lord  God  then  passed 
judgment  upon  all  the  parties  before  him,  following  the  order 
in  which  they  had  severally  taken  part  in  the  transgression  ; 
that  is  to  say,  first  on  the  serpent,  next  on  the  woman,  then  on 
the  man. 

Now,  in  the  first  of  these  judicial  awards,  "  the  Lord  God 
said  unto  the  serpent :  Because  thou  hast  done  this,  thou  art 
cursed  above  all  cattle,  and  above  every  beast  of  the  field  ;  upon 
thy  belly  shalt  thou  go,  and  dust  shalt  thou  eat  all  the  days 
of  thy  life.  And  I  will  put  enmity  between  thee  and  the 
woman,  and  between  thy  seed  and  her  seed  ;  it  shall  bruise  thy 
head,  and  thou  shalt  bruise  his  heel  "  (Gen.  iii.  15).  In  these 
words  the  Church  has  always  recognized  what  has  been  variously 
called  the  first  gospel,  the  first  promise  of  salvation,  the  earliest 
Messianic  prophecy,  or,  in  the  language  of  the  schools,  the 
Protevangelium.  It  was  the  first  manifestation  of  the  covenant 
of  grace. 

The  form  in  which  the  glad  tidings  were  made  known  is 
worthy  of  notice.  It  might  be  conjectured  that  God  would 
convey  them  in  the  shape  of  a  direct  and  definite  promise.  But 
instead  of  that  he  put  the  first  gospel  into  the  bosom  of  the 
curse  on  the  serpent.  In  its  aspect  towards  the  tempter  it  was 
strictly  retributive  ;  in  its  aspect  towards  the  man  it  was  strictly 
remedial.  The  whole  has  been  well  styled  a  "remedial  sen- 
tence." It  took  its  retributive  quality  from  the  proceeding 
then  pending.  God  was  administering  Divine  justice  on  the 
guilty.  Addressing  the  reptile  which  Satan  had  employed  as 
his  organ,  God  said,  "  Thou  art  cursed  above  all  cattle  and  above 
every  beast  of  the  field."     Then  turning  to  the  real  tempter 


THE   TEMPTER  JUDGED.  67 

incarnate  in  the  serpent,  God  said,  "  I  will  put  enmity  between 
thee  and  the  woman,  and  between  thy  seed  and  her  seed  ;  it 
shall  bruise  thy  head,  and  thou  shalt  bruise  his  heel."  The 
proceeding  was  strictly  judicial.  The  proprieties  of  the  occasion 
clothed  even  the  word  of  salvation  with  the  force  of  a  Divine 
malediction  on  the  enemy  of  souls.  Such  is  the  malignity  of 
Satan  towards  our  race,  that  a  blessing  on  us  is  a  curse  on 
the  adversary. 

By  the  terms  of  the  curse  the  serpent  was  condemned  to 
supreme  debasement  and  contempt.  "  Thou  art  cursed  above 
all  cattle,  and  above  every  beast  of  the  field  ;  upon  thy  belly 
shalt  thou  go,  and  dust  shalt  thou  eat  all  the  days  of  thy  life." 
The  effect  of  this  malediction  upon  the  reptile,  and  its  effect  on 
the  real  tempter,  should  be  separately  considered.  Many  com- 
mentators, both  Jewish  and  Christian,  have  held  that  the  serpent 
suffered  a  physical  and  organic  degradation.  Some  writers  have 
conjectured  that  it  was  originally  furnished  with  wings,  or  that 
it  was  provided  with  legs,  or  that  it  was  a  flying  seraph. 
According  to  Maimonides,  an  old  Jewish  gloss  affirms  that  the 
serpent  was  an  animal  as  large  as  a  camel,  and  that  Samael, 
which  is  another  name  for  Satan,  rode  on  it  when  Eve  was 
deceived.  Even  the  most  plausible  of  these  conjectures  in- 
volves a  supernatural  change  in  the  anatomical  structure  of  the 
reptile.  But  no  such  change  is  indicated  in  the  record  ;  it  is 
not  established  by  any  good  and  necessary  conclusion  from 
what  is  said,  nor  is  it  suggested  by  a  fair  explanation  of  the 
facts.  That  explanation  is  proposed  by  Calvin,  to  the  effect 
that  the  serpent  was  originally  created  to  go  upon  its  belly,  and 
eat  dust  mingled  with  its  natural  food  ;  that  it  was  now  simply 
remanded  to  its  former  prostrate  condition ;  this  condition 
became  by  Divine  appointment,  and  in  the  unalterable  concep- 
tions of  the  human  mind,  a  token  of  perpetual  infamy.  To 
this  it  may  be  added  that  the  reptile  had  risen  into  a  temporary 
exercise  of  reason  and  speech.  It  was  stripped  of  these  gifts, 
and  sent  back  into  its  original  beastliness  and  the  use  of  an 
inarticulate  hiss.  So  much  for  the  effect  of  the  curse  on  the 
organ  of  the  tempter.     The  tempter  himself  was  sentenced  by 


68  SACBED  niSTORT. 

the  terms  of  the  curse  to  everlasting  shame  and  abhorrence. 
He  had  used  the  serpent  as  his  tool ;  and  now,  in  the  condition 
and  habits  of  the  reptile,  Satan  should  recognize  his  own  abject 
condition.  The  serpent  became  a  visible  representative  on 
earth  of  the  Devil  in  his  degradation,  "  upon  thy  belly  shalt 
thou  go  ;  "  of  his  filthiuess,  "  dust  shalt  thou  eat ;  "  of  a  per- 
petual curse,  "  all  the  days  of  thy  life  ;  "  of  his  stealthiness, 
"  bruising  the  heel,"  a  snake  in  the  grass.  The  serpent  is 
cursed  above  all  cattle,  and  above  every  beast  of  the  field  that 
the  Lord  God  had  made  ;  even  so  Satan  is  the  most  despicable 
of  all  rational  creatures.  The  Almighty,  having  made  this 
disposition  of  his  enemy  and  ours,  proceeds  to  unfold  the 
features  of  the  first  gospel. 

First,  it  contains  a  substantial  but  indeiinite  promise  of  sal- 
vation. This  promise  comes  before  us  in  its  germ  to  be  gradu- 
ally unfolded  through  the  ages.  The  ultimate  victory  of  the 
kingdom  of  light  over  the  kingdom  of  darkness  is  predicted, 
and  the  assurance  is  added  that  this  victory  shall  be  won  by 
the  seed  of  the  woman.  But  who  are  the  seed  of  the  woman? 
The  expression  bears  a  threefold  meaning.  Primarily  it  signi- 
fies the  whole  human  family,  for  Eve  is  the  mother  of  all  living. 
More  precisely,  it  describes  the  righteous  portion  of  the  race : 
"  The  good  seed  are  the  children  of  the  kingdom  "  (Matt.  xiii. 
38).  In  its  highest  sense  it  is  predicated  of  Christ,  who  is 
proved  by  genealogical  tables  to  be  the  direct  descendant  of  the 
first  pair.  But  the  first  gospel  does  not  declare  whether  the 
victory  shall  be  gained  by  the  human  race  as  a  whole,  or  b}^  a 
favored  portion  of  the  race,  or  by  one  adorable  person.  Nor 
does  it  designate  the  time  when  the  great  conqueror  shall  arise, 
nor  the  country  and  the  people  in  the  midst  of  which  this 
redemption  shall  be  wrought  out.  These  particulars  are  re- 
served, to  be  subsequently  revealed.  The  modern  believer, 
with  the  advanced  revelations  before  him,  interprets  the  prom- 
ise as  of  one,  even  Christ,  and  of  the  Church  whereof  he  is  tha 
head.  Calvin  says,  "  I  explain  the  seed  to  mean  the  posterity 
of  the  woman  in  general."  "  But  since  experience  teaches  us 
that  not  all  the  sons  of  Adam,  by  far,  arise  as  the  conquerors  of 


THE  IDEAL   SEED   OF  THE   WOMAm  69 

the  Devil,  we  must  necessarily  come  to  one  head,  that  we  may- 
find  to  whom  the  victory  belongs.  So  Paul  from  the  seed  of 
Abraham  leads  to  Christ.  Wherefore,  the  sense  will  be,  in  my 
judgment,  that  the  human  race,  which  Satan  was  endeavoring 
to  oppress,  would  at  length  be  victorious."  If  to  this  we  add 
that  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  the  ideal  seed  of  the  woman,  will 
win  the  victory,  the  sense  of  the  promise  is  fully  brought  out. 

In  the  second  place,  the  first  gospel  contains  certain  prophetic 
intimations  of  the  plan  of  salvation.  The  words  were  uttered 
by  God  himself.  Having  devised  that  plan,  he  was  pleased  to 
plant  the  germs  of  its  ruling  ideas  in  the  initial  promise,  intend- 
ing to  unfold  and  reveal  them  in  the  later  scriptures.  These 
are  its  intimations.  1.  Salvation  shall  come  through  a  person. 
We  are  saved  by  a  Saviour,  not  by  a  philosophy  or  a  dogma  or 
a  system  of  morality ;  not  by  a  ritual  of  worship ;  but  by  a 
living  Being  who  is  able  to  save,  and  who  does  save,  the  lost. 
2.  This  Saviour  shall  be  a  man,  and  yet  more  than  a  man.  He 
shall  be  a  man,  the  seed  of  a  woman  ;  a  partaker  of  her  flesh 
and  blood  ;  a  true  man,  having  a  human  body  and  a  reasonable 
soul.  And  yet  he  shall  be  more  than  a'  man.  He  who  had 
destroyed  our  first  parents  was  greater  than  they,  and  could 
not,  in  his  turn,  be  overcome  except  by  one  who  is  greater  still. 
He  who  shall  bruise  Satan  under  his  feet,  who  shall  put  in 
subjection  the  conqueror  of  man,  must  be  supreme  over  the 
subjugated  race  not  only,  but  over  the  conquering  enemy.  The 
prophecy  points  out  not  obscurel}^  a  union,  in  the  coming  one, 
of  the  human  with  a  superhuman,  if  not  with  the  Divine 
nature.  3.  The  Saviour  shall  be  the  seed  of  the  woman  sever- 
ally, not  of  the  man  and  woman  jointly.  "  Her  seed  shall 
bruise  thy  head."  The  inscrutable  idea  of  the  seed  of  the 
woman,  as  thoroughly  distinct  from  that  of  the  man,  would 
probably  be  recognized  among  the  contents  of  the  first  gospel 
only  in  the  light  of  subsequent  revelations.  The  word  of 
Jehovah  through  Isaiah  re-stated  the  mystery  in  plainer  terms : 
"  Behold,  a  virgin  shall  conceive,  and  bear  a  son,  and  shall  call 
his  name  Immanuel  "  (Isa.  vii.  14).  Even  this  prediction  was 
susceptible   of    another   interpretation.     But   when   God   sent 


70  SACBED  BISTORT. 

forth  his  Son,  born  of  a  woman,  then  was  divulged  the  mystery 
that  lay  hidden  in  these  old  prophecies  respecting  the  seed  of 
the  woman,  and  the  child  born  of  a  virgin  mother.  The  creed 
expresses  the  truth  in  one  aspect :  "  He  was  conceived  by  the 
Holy  Ghost,  and  born  of  the  Virgin  Mary ; "  and  Archbishop 
Usher  in  another :  "  As  a  man  he  was  without  a  father,  as  God 
without  a  mother."  "In  the  fact  that  the  destroyer  of  the 
serpent  was  born  of  a  woman,  without  a  human  father,  these 
words  were  fulfilled  in  a  way  which  showed  that  the  promise 
must  have  proceeded  from  that  Being  who  secured  its  fulfilment 
not  only  in  its  essential  force,  but  in  its  apparently  casual  form."  ^ 
4.  The  Redeemer  should  be  a  suffering  and  a  triumphant  Mes- 
siah. Not  only  so,  but  his  sufferings  and  triumphs,  as  the  seed 
of  the  woman,  should  bear  a  certain  definite  relation  to  the 
seed  of  the  serpent.  He  should  receive  a  bruise  in  the  heel,  a 
curable  wound;  he  should  bruise  the  head  of  his  adversary, 
a  mortal  wound.  5.  The  salvation  purchased  for  us  by  the  seed 
of  the  woman  will  be  complete.  By  his  apostasy  man  had 
incurred  the  penalty  of  death,  including  spiritual  death  to  the 
soul,  death  by  dissolution  to  the  body,  death  eternal  to  both  soul 
and  body.  By  virtue  of  the  first  gospel,  provision  was  made 
for  the  restoration  of  life  to  the  soul,  of  life  to  the  body, 
of  eternal  life  and  blessedness  to  both.  6.  Redemption  was 
promised  not  only  to  the  first  man  and  woman,  but  to  their 
posterity  likewise.  "  I  will  put  enmity  between  thee  and  the 
woman,"  —  an  assurance,  personally,  to  the  woman;  "and 
between  thy  seed  and  her  seed ;  it "  (her  seed)  "  shall  bruise 
thy  head,"  —  an  assurance  for  her  posterity.  The  grammatical 
forms  used  here,  seed  and  it,  point  to  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ ; 
"  for  God  said  not  seeds  as  of  many,  but  her  seed  as  one,  which 
is  Christ"  (Gal.  iii.  16).  The  sin  of  the  first  parents  had 
ruined  the  race.  Their  children  would  find  themselves  exiles 
from  paradise,  with  loss  of  the  Divine  image  and  the  Divine 
favor,  subject  to  sorrow,  toil,  the  dissolution  of  the  body,  and 
the  second  death.  After  the  same  rule,  a  common  victory  over 
the  tempter  was  promised  to  the  fallen  pair  and  to  their 
1  Keil  and  Delitzsch  on  Pent.,  i.  102, 


THE   CONFLICT  OF  THE  AGES.  71 

descendants.  The  vital  relation  of  Adam  to  his  posterity  in 
the  first  transgression,  in  its  punishment,  and  in  the  promised 
deliverance,  is  here  most  distinctly  set  out.  Indeed,  the  doc- 
trine of  headship  is  a  point  squarely  made.  The  student  of 
the  Bible  may,  without  hesitation,  accept  the  conclusion  that  the 
Scriptures  make  it  certain  that  the  promises  to  the  divinely 
appointed  representative  men  of  the  race,  notably  Adam,  Noah, 
Abraham,  and  David,  are  promises  as  well  to  their  seed  after 
them.  7.  God  put  enmity  between  the  two  seeds.  This  state- 
ment is  borne  out  by  the  conflict  which  began  at  the  apostasy 
between  the  righteous,  the  good  seed  of  the  kingdom,  and  the 
wicked,  the  children  of  the  wicked  one.  Notliing  is  more  dis- 
tinctly foreshadowed  in  the  remedial  sentence  than  this  conflict; 
nothing  is  more  distinctly  traced  out  in  biblical  history.  The 
holy  war  began  in  the  murder  of  Abel ;  it  was  renewed  in 
the  successful  attempt  of  the  posterity  of  Cain  to  debauch  the 
posterity  of  Seth ;  in  the  ungodly  sinners  in  the  days  of  Enoch ; 
in  the  indecency  of  Ham ;  in  the  mocking  spirit  of  Ishmael ;  in 
the  hatred  of  Esau  towards  Jacob ;  in  the  outrages  inflicted 
by  the  Egyptians  on  the  Israelites ;  in  the  attack  of  the  Amalek- 
ites  on  the  exhr.usted  rear  of  God's  people  in  the  wilderness 
(Deut.  XXV.  17, 18) ;  in  the  hatred  of  Ahab  and  Jezebel  towards 
Elijah ;  in  the  long  and  dreary  wars  waged  for  a  thousand  years 
against  the  Israelites  by  the  heathen  tribes  dwelling  between 
the  Euphrates  and  the  Nile ;  in  the  weapons  formed  against 
Daniel  and  his  friends  in  Babylon ;  in  the  hostilit}^  of  Jew  and 
Pagan  towards  the  followers  of  Christ ;  and  in  the  persecutions 
which  have  worn  out,  in  all  ages,  the  saints  of  the  most  high 
God.  It  is  worthy  of  notice,  also,  that  the  children  of  the 
Devil  have  inherited  all  the  subtlety  which  their  father  displayed 
in  the  garden.  On  their  part,  the  war  is  a  merciless  onset  joined 
to  the  wiles  of  the  Devil.  On  the  side  of  the  righteous,  the 
victory  is  to  be  won  by  the  truth  in  a  fair  fight  in  the  open 
day. 

But  the  conflict  was  carriod  into  a  higher  sphere.  Jesus 
Christ  came  to  destroy  the  works  of  the  Devil.  The  struggle 
began  early.     Even  in  the  infancy  of  Jesus,  Herod  sought  the 


72  SACBED  HISTORY. 

young  child's  life.  Immediately-  after  the  baptism,  Jesus  was 
tempted  of  the  Devil.  The  adversary  was  defeated,  but  he 
departed  from  Jesus  only  "for  a  season  "  (Luke  iv.  13).  Before 
the  supper,  the  Devil  had  put  it  into  the  heart  of  Judas  to  betray 
him ;  at  the  supper,  Satan,  in  order  to  make  sure  work  of  it, 
"  entered  into  him."  And,  during  the  passion,  Christ  exclaimed 
to  his  enemies,  "  This  is  your  hour  and  the  power  of  darkness." 
The  Evangelist  treats  this  mysterious  hour  with  a  reserve  which 
ought  to  be  sacredly  respected  ;  but  it  may  be  safely  inferred 
that  the  old  serpent  mingled  bitter  ingredients  in  the  cup  which 
Jesus  prayed  might  pass  from  him. 

This  direct  personal  warfare  between  the  Prince  of  peace 
and  the  prince  of  the  power  of  the  air  appears  in  the  demoniacal 
possessions,  the  accounts  of  which  enter  largely  into  the  New- 
Testament  history.  Similar  possessions  occurred  very  rarely  in 
the  Old-Testament  period,  and  have  in  modern  times,  so  it  is 
commonly  thought,  disappeared  altogether.  But  to  the  end 
that  the  Son  of  God  might  spoil  the  powers  of  darkness,  and 
make  a  spectacle  of  them,  and  demolish  them  openly,  God  was 
pleased  to  loose  the  adversary  for  a  little  season.  Hence  the 
astonishing  multiplication  of  these  possessions  in  the  time  of 
Christ,  and  the  frightful  power  which  the  foul  spirits  exercised 
over  their  victims,  are  to  be  referred  to  a  special  Divine  permis- 
sion. This  explains  the  importance  attached  by  the  Evangelists 
to  the  miracles  in  which  the  devils  were  cast  out,  the  minuteness 
with  which  both  the  symptoms  and  the  instantaneous  cure  of 
the  malady  are  described,  and  the  careful  record  made  of  the 
words  spoken  by  Christ  and  by  the  unclean  spirits,  and  of  all 
the  attending  phenomena.  The  repeated  instances  in  which  the 
Son  of  God  rebuked  the  unclean  spirits  by  name,  and  in  which 
they  addressed  him  by  name,  show  that  the  heads  of  two  hostile 
kingdoms  were  met  face  to  face.  And  further,  the  refusal  of 
Christ  to  receive  the  testimony  of  the  devils  to  his  Messiahship 
(for  "  he  suffered  them  not  to  say  that  they  knew  him  to  be  the 
Christ  ")i  shows  that  he  came  not  to  be  witnessed  unto  by 
the  adversary,  but  to  bruise  him  under  his  feet.     The  plan  of 

1  Luke  iv.  41,  in  the  margin. 


MERCY  LINKED    WITH  JUSTICE.  73 

this  part  of  the  final  gospel  is  a  thorough  commentary  on  the 
first  gospel.  Christ  was  fully  conscious  of  the  victory  that  he 
would  win.  "  I  beheld,"  said  he,  "  Satan  as  lightning  falling 
from  heaven." 

A  quality  of  mercy  in  the  sentence  on  Adam  and  Eve  was 
pointed  out  as  early  as  the  third  century  by  Tertullian.  He 
observed  that  no  curse  was  pronounced  on  Adam  and  Eve. 
Only  to  the  serpent  God  said,  "  Thou  art  cursed."  He  con- 
demned the  woman  to  sorrow  and  subjection,  but  he  pronounced 
no  curse  upon  her  person.  God  condemned  the  man  to  sorrow 
and  toil  all  the  days  of  his  life  :  he  cursed  the  ground  for  man's 
sake,  but  not  the  man  himself.  Satan  only  was  accursed,  not 
liis  victims.  Tertullian's  remark  should  be  qualified.  There  is 
a  painful  sense  in  which  we  are,  all  of  us,  under  the  curse  of 
the  law  until  we  receive  the  regeneration.  But  there  is  a 
specific  sense  in  which  the  tempter  only  was  accursed,  and  in 
which  the  final  curse  shall  be  in  due  form  of  law  pronounced, 
to  take  effect  at  once  on  the  wicked  in  the  day  of  judgment. 
"  Depart,  ye  cursed.,  into  everlasting  fire,  prepared  for  the  Devil 
and  his  angels  "  (Matt.  xxv.  41).  In  this  special  sense  it  is 
true  that  the  curse  was  withheld  from  our  first  parents.  Satan 
was  left  to  perish  in  hell  without  hope  of  escape,  but  the  sen- 
tence on  the  human  race  was  adjourned  over  to  a  future  day  ; 
meanwhile  a  period  of  probation  was  granted,  and  the  way  of 
salvation  was  opened  before  us. 

Next,  God  intimated  to  the  fallen  pair  that  their  lives  should 
be  spared  for  a  season.  They  were  not  struck  dead  at  the 
instant  of  the  transgression.  IMoreover,  the  Divine  promise 
that  the  seed  of  tlie  woman  should  bruise  the  serpent's  head 
conveyed  the  assurance  that  the  woman  should  live  to  bear 
children,  and  the  sentence  of  toil  indicated  that  the  man  should 
live  to  till  the  ground.  A  respite  only  was  granted,  not  a  final 
pardon  ;  for  God  instantly  added,  "  Dust  thou  art,  and  unto  dust 
thou  shalt  return."  Adam  joyfully  recognized  the  reprieve,  and 
the  hope  held  out  that  time  would  be  given  to  the  woman  before 
her  death  to  give  existence  to  a  posterity  among  whom  should 
be  the  author  of  eternal  life.     He  expressed'  his  joy  in  the  new 


74  SACEED  HISTORY. 

name  that  he  gave  to  his  wife.  When  she  was  formed  he  called 
her  woman,  "  because  she  was  taken  out  of  man."  Now  he 
called  her  name  Eve,  "  because  she  was  the  mother  of  all 
living ; "  the  continuance  and  redemption  of  his  race  being 
guaranteed  to  the  man  through  the  woman.  But  how  is  this 
reprieve  to  be  reconciled  with  the  terms  of  the  threat  ?  The 
threat  was,  "  In  the  day  thou  eatest  thereof  thou  shalt  surely 
die ;  "  the  respite  actually  granted  was  nine  hundred  years. 
The  answer  is  to  be  found  in  the  complex  character  of  the 
death  which  was  threatened.  This  form  of  punishinent  is 
threefold :  The  corruption  of  our  whole  nature,  which  is  spirit- 
ual death  ;  the  separation  of  soul  and  body,  which  is  temporal 
death  ;  and  the  destruction  of  both  soul  and  body  in  hell,  which 
is  eternal  death.  Spiritual  death  instantly  followed  the  eating 
of  the  forbidden  fruit ;  the  human  body  became  mortal,  and 
began  to  die  ;  while  the  infliction  of  eternal  death  was,  by 
Divine  mercy,  withheld  during  the  life  of  the  sinner.  There 
was  added  the  further  promise  of  a  posterity  which  should  sub- 
jugate the  adversary.  This  promise  was  conveyed  in  terms  too 
explicit  to  admit  of  any  doubt.  Adam  did  not,  it  is  probable, 
anticipate  that  the  promise  would  culminate  in  Christ ;  but  he 
was  plainly  told  that  the  victory  should  somehow  be  won  by  his 
posterity. 

The  established  connection  between  the  salvation  of  the 
righteous  and  the  destruction  of  the  wicked  is  set  forth  in  the 
first  gospel.  This  is  no  ingenious  deduction  of  the  theologians 
from  the  terms  of  the  remedial  sentence,  but  it  is  a  settled 
principle  of  the  Divine  administration.  Nothing  short  of  a 
deadly  wound,  inflicted  on  the  serpent,  can  give  victory  to  the 
seed  of  the  woman.  Not  only  was  the  drowning  of  the  old 
world  associated  in  point  of  fact  and  time  with  the  rescue  of 
righteous  Noah,  but  the  flood  that  bore  him  safely  on  its  bosom 
destroyed  the  ungodly.  Noah  and  his  family  were  saved,  not 
from,  but  "  by,  water ; "  "  the  like  figure  whereunto  baptism 
doth  now  save  us  "  (1  Pet.  iii.  21).  The  escape  of  Lot  from 
Sodom  was  closely  followed  by  the  destruction  of  the  cities  of 
the  plain.     The  emancipation  of  the  Hebrews  from  bondage  in 


EXILED  BUT  NOT  HOPELESS.  75 

Egypt  was  procured  by  a  series  of  desolating  plagues  upon  tlieir 
taskmasters.  The  departure  of  Israel,  God's  first-born  son,  was 
joined  with  the  death  of  the  first-born  of  Egypt ;  and  at  the  Red 
Sea  the  double  process  of  the  deliverance  of  the  people  of  God 
and  the  overthrow  of  his  enemies  was  made  conspicuous.  The 
settlement  of  the  chosen  people  in  the  promised  land  involved 
the  extermination  of  the  filthy  inhabitants  of  Canaan.  In  the 
days  of  Elijah,  the  escape  from  slaughter  of  the  faithful  Israel- 
ites was  secured  by  the  slaughter  of  the  priests  of  IJaal  and  of 
Jezebel  and  Ahab.  In  Babylon,  also,  the  three  holy  men  were 
taken,  alive  and  well,  out  of  the  fiery  furnace,  and  Daniel  came 
unhurt  out  of  the  den  of  lions;  while  their  executioners  and 
enemies  were  consumed  by  the  flames,  or  cast  upon  the  hungry 
jaws  of  the  wild  beasts.  The  release  of  the  Jews  from  captiv- 
ity in  Babylon  was  brought  about  by  the  destruction  of  the  city, 
its  king  and  nobles.  The  Messiah  also  came  to  destroy  and  to 
save.  Isaiah  predicted  that  he  should  come  "  to  proclaim  the 
acceptable  year  of  the  Lord,  and  the  day  of  vengeance  of  our 
God  "  (Isa.  Ixi.  2).  John  the  Baptist  took  up  the  same  strain : 
"  He  shall  gather  the  wheat  into  the  garner,  but  the  chaff  he 
will  burn  with  unquenchable  fire"  (Matt.  iii.  12).  In  the  fall 
of  Jerusalem,  which  was  a  type  of  the  day  of  judgment,  the 
believers,  being  warned  of  God,  escaped  to  the  mountains, 
while  the  scoffers  who  remained  perished  in  the  siege.  In  the 
day  of  judgment  itself,  the  simultaneous  salvation  of  the  right- 
eous, and  the  destruction  of  the  wicked,  will  finish  the  present 
dispensation  of  mingled  mercy  and  justice.  The  eternal  song 
will  begin,  and  at  the  same  moment  the  eternal  wail. 

The  Lord  God  "  drove  out  the  man  "  from  the  garden.  The 
prospect  before  the  exiles  was  one  of  indescribable  sorrow,  and 
yet  of  a  comfortable  hope.  Little  did  they  know  of  either. 
They  could  not  foresee  the  shame  and  sorrow  which  waited  for 
them,  the  extent  to  which  the  first  sin  had  changed  the  face  and 
fate  of  the  world,  or  the  awful  growth  of  physical  and  moral 
evil  which  should  spring  forth  into  everlasting  corruption  from 
the  seeds  of  the  transgression.  So  also  the  endless  hope  that 
was  laid  up  in  the  first  promise  was  largel}'  hidden  from  them. 


76  SACRED  HISTORY. 

Standing  in  the  light  of  the  subsequent  revelations,  we  behold 
our  first  parents  bearing  with  them  from  the  garden,  though 
unconsciously  perhaps,  such  promises  as  these :  Eternal  life  is 
provided  for  the  race  ;  this  life  shall  come  through  a  personal 
Saviour,  the  incarnate  Son  of  God  ;  he  shall  be  born  of  a  virgin 
mother ;  he  shall  be  a  suffering  but  triumphant  Messiah ;  he 
shall  bruise  Satan  under  his  feet ;  the  overthrow  of  the  wicked 
shall  go  hand  in  hand  with  the  deliverance  of  the  righteous ; 
the  posterity  of  Adam  and  Eve  shall,  jointly  with  them,  be  heirs 
of  the  righteousness  that  is  by  faith  ;  and  all  these  blessings  are 
guaranteed  by  a  covenant  entered  into  by  the  First  and  Second 
Persons  in  the  Godhead,  and  administered  by  the  Third  Person 
of  the  adorable  Three  in  One.  And  so  the  fallen  but  redeemed 
race,  in  the  person  of  their  progenitors,  left  the  garden,  having 
first  received  a  promise  exceedingly  great  and  precious.  In  the 
phrase  of  the  Puritan  divines,  our  first  parents  were  "  prisoners 
of  hope."  Their  lives  had  been  spared ;  the  curse  on  the  ser- 
pent was  withheld  from  their  persons.  If,  as  many  think,  a 
sacrifice,  expiating  by  blood  the  guilt  of  their  sins,  and  covering 
their  shame  with  the  skins  of  the  victims,  was  offered  by  them, 
they  went  forth  not  in  their  nakedness,  not  hiding  their  shame 
in  a  flimsy  rag  of  fig-leaves,  but  clothed  upon  with  a  sign  of 
mercy ;  and  one  might  almost  say  that  the  Lamb  slain  from  the 
foundation  of  the  world  met  them  at  the  gate,  and  cast  over 
them  the  robe  of  his  righteousness.  One  other  joyful  signal 
was  in  reserve  for  them.  When  the}^  departed  into  the  land  of 
exile,  they  looked  back,  and  behold,  the  cherubim  were  posted 
at  the  sunrise  gate  marking  the  place  of  the  presence  and  altar 
of  God.  The  flaming  sword,  the  "  fiery  arm  "  of  Divine  justice, 
was  there ;  but  in  the  cherubim  mercy  was  seen  rejoicing  over 
judgment. 

But,  is  the  Mosaic  account  of  the  creation  and  apostasy  of 
the  human  race  a  veritable  history  ?  This  narrative  has  been 
called  an  absurdity,  or  a  pure  fiction,  or  a  higher  species  of  the 
fable.  The  most  respectable  of  the  sceptical  thinkers  propose 
the  mythical  theory.  They  treat  the  record  as  a  collection 
of  legends,  well  told  and  well  woven  together,  of  the  creation  of 


OBJECTIONS   TO  MYTHICAL   THEORY.  77 

the  world,  the  origin  of  the  human  race,  its  primeval  innocence 
and  degeneracy.  These  myths  are,  according  to  some,  of  Per- 
sian origin.  The  analogies  are  the  story  of  Romulus  and  Remus 
and  the  she-wolf,  and  the  legendary  chronicles  of  ancient  Egypt 
and  Greece.  This  theory  is  liable  to  three  serious  objections. 
First,  if  the  Mosaic  account  of  the  creation  and  fall  is  mythical, 
there  is  no  trustworthy  history  of  these  events  in  existence. 
The  narrative  is  simple  and  artless ;  it  is  not  poetical  in  its 
structure,  but  historical ;  it  is  coherent  and  progressive ;  the 
unities  are  preserved  ;  its  ethical  and  psychological  features  are 
true  to  reason  and  nature  ;  and  the  highest  truths  are  among  its 
contents.  If  this  be  discarded,  what  other  tradition,  written 
or  unwritten,  of  that  early  period  is  worthy  of  credit?  Sec- 
ondly, the  value  of  the  Book  of  Genesis  as  a  whole,  and  of  all 
the  later  scriptures,  depends  on  the  historical  verity  of  the  three 
opening  chapters.  If  their  contents  be  mythical,  it  is  impossi- 
ble to  explain  what  follows  them  in  the  record.  The  plan  of 
redemption  developed  in  the  two  Testaments  roots  itself  in  the 
Mosaic  account  of  the  beginning  of  all  things.  The  incarna- 
tion and  death  of  the  second  Adam,  the  Lord  from  heaven, 
presupposes  the  absolute  truth  of  all  that  is  said  in  regard  to 
the  creation  and  apostasy  of  the  first  Adam.  Or,  reversing  the 
thought,  we  may  say  that  Strauss's  conception  of  Christ  is 
the  logical  sequent  to  Von  Bohlen's  notion  of  Adam.  Fable  an- 
swers to  fable,  as  in  water  face  answereth  to  face.  Thirdly, 
our  Lord  and  the  apostles  treat  these  facts  as  sound,  and  as  the 
genesis  of  other  revelations.  It  would  be  easy  to  construct 
from  their  declarations  a  compendious  history  of  the  formation 
of  the  man  and  the  Avoman ;  the  tree  of  life ;  the  serpent ;  the 
Devil,  his  subtlety,  his  access  to  our  first  parents,  the  order  in 
which  he  proceeded,  —  first  beguiling  Eve,  then  Adam ;  the 
entrance  of  death  into  the  world ;  the  representative  position  of 
Adam,  and  the  ruin  which  his  first  sin  wrought  in  the  world. ^ 
Was  Moses  the  retailer  of  idle  legends,  and  were  our  Lord  and 
the  apostles  his  dupes  ? 

1  Rev.  ii.  7,  xxii.  2,  14;  Jobu  viii.  44;  Rev.  sii.  9,  xx.  2;  1  Tim.  ii.  14;  2  Cor.  xi. 
3;  Rom.  v.  12;  1  Cor.  X7.  22. 


78  SACRED  HISTORY. 

Scarcely  less  objectionable  is  the  allegorical  method  of 
explaining  the  narrative.  The  allegory  sets  forth  facts  under 
the  form  of  a  figurative  representation.  It  has  been  called  a  con- 
tinuous metaphor.  The  eightieth  Psalm  contains  an  inspired 
aMegory,  in  which  God's  chosen  people  are  represented  by  a 
vineyard.  In  English  literature,  Bunyan's  "  Pilgrim's  Prog- 
ress "  and  Spenser's  "  Fairy  Queen  "  are  fine  examples  of  tliis 
vehicle  of  thought.  Now,  some  interpreters,  who  profess  to 
hold  to  the  inspiration  of  the  Scriptures,  in  their  zeal  to  make 
every  thing  easy  to  the  natural  man  deny  the  presence  of  a  real 
serpent  in  the  temptation  and  fall.  They  resolve  the  reptile,  and 
what  he  said  and  did,  into  a  sacred  allegory.  But  this  explana- 
tion does  not  clear  up  the  subject :  it  raises  new  difficulties. 
First,  this  narrative  purports  to  be,  and  on  its  face  is,  a  plain 
and  veritable  history.  Next,  it  is  a  part  of  a  continuous  state- 
ment of  facts.  It  is  the  only  link  connecting  the  planting  of 
the  garden  in  chap.  ii.  with  the  birth  of  Adam's  sons  in  chap.  iv. 
Our  respect  for  the  veracity  of  the  historian  and  the  dignity  of 
the  history  is  destroyed  if  we  believe  that  this  link  is  nothing 
more  than  a  continuous  metaphor ;  and  that  it  is  inserted, 
without  notice  to  the  reader,  in  a  coherent  narrative  of  absolute 
facts,  like  the  links  of  a  chain  parted  in  the  middle,  and  held 
together  by  a  spider's  web.  Further,  the  fall  of  man  is  the 
most  terrible  catastrophe  which  has  ever  occurred  on  earth.  It 
is  a  great  mystery,  but  it  .explains  other  and  perhaps  greater 
mysteries.  That  tlie  historical  truth  in  regard  to  an  event  so 
decisive  is  obscured,  in  the  sacred  record,  by  a  fable  or  an 
allegory,  is  harder  to  believe  than  the  story  itself  taken  in  its 
plain  and  obvious  sense.  Still  further,  the  suggestion  of  Bishop 
Horsly  is  unanswerable.  If  the  serpent  is  an  allegorical  reptile, 
the  forbidden  fruit,  the  tree  on  which  it  grew,  the  conversation 
between  the  enemy  and  the  woman,  and  the  eating  of  the  fruit 
are  all  allegories.  In  that  case,  the  record  winds  up  with  a 
metaphorical  curse  on  the  tempter  and  on  his  tool,  and  a  like 
sentence  on  the  man  and  the  woman,  with  allegorical  fig-leaves 
and  coats  of  skin,  an  allegorical  expulsion  from  the  garden,  and 
allegorical  cherubim  and  flaming  sword  at  the  eastern   gate. 


SONGS  IN   THE  NIGHT.  79 

Where  does  the  history  break  off  into  allegory  ?  and  where 
does  the  allegory  end,  and  the  history  begin  anew  ?  AVhere  in 
the  old  granite  walls  of  sober  fact  are  the  layers  of  the  crum- 
bling sandstone  ? 

This  chapter  may  well  close  with  the  weighty  words  of  Dr. 
Tayler  Lewis :  — 

"  How  every  Pelagian  view  of  life  falls  before  this  record,  as 
it  brings  into  prominence  the  causal  connection  between  the 
sin  of  the  spirit-world  and  that  of  man ;  between  the  sin  of 
the  woman  and  that  of  the  man ;  between  the  sin  of  our  first 
parents  and  their  own  sinfulness,  and  the  sinfulness  of  their 
posterity !  How  limited  and  vapid  appears  the  modern  view, 
which  regards  the  senses  as  the  prime  starting-point  of  evil ! 
And  how  clear  is  the  explanation  of  evil,  of  punishment,  and 
of  judgment,  as  it  meets  us  in  this  account!  that  the  natural 
evil  does  not  belong  to  the  moral,  but,  notwithstanding  its 
inward  connection  with  it,  is  still  the  Divine  counteracting  force 
against  it;  that  from  the  very  acme  of  the  judgment  breaks 
forth  the  promise  and  salvation.  These  truths,  which  are  far 
above  every  high  antichristian  view  of  the  world,  make  it 
apparent  that  the  first  judgment  of  God,  as  a  type  of  the  world- 
redeeming  judgment  of  God,  has  found  its  completion  in  the 
death  of  Christ  upon  the  cross."  —  Lange's  Genesis,  p.  75. 


80  SACBED  HISTORY. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

CAIN,   ABEL,   AISTD   SETH. 

Gen.  iv.  —  The  crime  committed  by  Cain  has  been  used  to 
give  point  to  several  religious  and  moral  lessons.  For  a  few 
examples  :  A  corrupt  nature  was  conveyed  from  our  first 
parents  to  their  immediate  posterity ;  by  the  hideous  wicked- 
ness of  Cain,  we  may  measure  the  depth  of  depravity  in  the 
generation  next  to  Adam,  —  the  first  murder  being  the  natural 
product  of  the  first  transgression  ;  unbelief  is  the  root  of  sin, 
and  faith  is  the  beginning  of  righteousness  ;  unbelief,  jealousy, 
hatred,  murder,  lying  to  hide  crime,  and  insolence  towards  the 
Almighty,  are  successive  stages  in  a  career  of  disobedience  ; 
hatred  towards  God  and  hatred  towards  one's  brother  go 
together  ;  and  the  punishment  of  the  wicked  is  greater  than 
they  can  bear. 

Besides  these  obvious  lessons,  there  is  another  which  falls 
within  the  pre-arranged  plan  of  the  history  of  redemption. 
The  crime  of  Cain  was  the  first  recorded  manifestation  of  the 
mortal  enmity  between  the  seed  of  the  serpent,  even  the  chil- 
dren of  the  Devil,  and  the  seed  of  the  woman,  even  the  children 
of  God.  The  hostile  attitude  of  the  parties  is  a  prominent 
feature  in  the  first  gospel  (Gen.  iii.  14,  15).  It  is  there  inti- 
mated that  God  would  put  reciprocal  enmity  into  the  nature  of 
the  two  seeds ;  the  enmity  should  be  perpetual ;  open  war 
should  be  waged  between  them ;  in  the  conflict,  the  righteous 
should  suffer  much,  and  should  triumph  at  last ;  the  wicked 
should  fight  hard,  and  be  ignominiously  put  down  ;  the  parable 
being  a  bitten  heel  and  a  crushed  head. 

The  parties  to  the  first  conflict  between  the  two  seeds  were 


CAIN  AND  ABEL.  81 

Cain  and  Abel.  It  would  be  difficult  to  imagine  the  curiosity 
and  wonder  with  which  Eve  took  to  her  bosom  her  first-born 
infant  son.  In  her  exultation,  she  exclaimed,  "  I  have  gotten  a 
man  with  the  help  of  Jehovah  ;  "  and  she  called  the  child  Cain, 
Acquisition.  From  her  use  of  the  word  Jehovah,  the  covenant- 
name,  we  may  presume  that  she  recognized  in  her  son  the 
promised  seed  of  the  first  gospel,  who  should  bruise  the  head 
of  that  old  serpent,  even  him  by  whose  subtlety  she  had  been 
deceived  and  ruined,  with  the  loss  of  Eden.  Her  second  son 
was  Abel,  Nothingness.,  Vanity.  Eve  named  both  Cain  and 
Seth  ;  but  it  is  not  said  that  she,  with  her  own  lips,  gave  the 
name  Abel  to  her  second  son.  It  may  be  that  Vanity  expressed 
Eve's  disappointment  in  the  character  of  Cain,  together  with  a 
vague  presentiment  of  Abel's  premature  death. 

Cain  became  a  tiller  of  the  soil,  and  Abel  a  shepherd,  — 
occupations  which  have  been  called  the  ground  forms  of  human 
industry,  first  united  in  Adam,  then  divided  between  his  two 
oldest  sons.  Having  stated  this  particular  in  order  to  explain 
subsequent  events,  the  sacred  narrative  passes  in  silence  the 
training  and  history  of  the  two  brothers,  through  the  period  of 
one  hundred  and  thirty  years,  down  to  the  murder  of  Abel. 
This  date  is  fixed  by  the  birth  of  Seth,  which  occurred  shortly 
after  the  crime  was  committed,  and  when  Adam  was  one  hun- 
dred and  thirty  years  old  (Gen.  iv.  25,  v.  3).  Tlie  tragedy 
opens  with  the  information,  that,  in  the  course  of  events,  the 
two  brothers  engaged  in  the  worship  of  God.  Abel  offered  in 
sacrifice  the  fattest  of  the  firstlings  of  his  flock  ;  Cain  offered 
the  fruits  of  the  earth.  The  brothers  worshipped  the  same 
Divine  being  ;  both  presented  before  God  valuable  gifts  ;  both 
brought  the  products  of  their  daily  toil.  And  yet  "  God  had 
respect  unto  Abel  and  his  offering,  but  unto  Cain  and  his  offer- 
ing he  had  not  respect  "  (iv.  4,  5).  The  Divine  acceptance  and 
rejection  were  made  known  by  a  sign  intelligible  to  each  of  the 
worshippers  ;  some  have  conjectured,  by  fire  from  heaven  con- 
suming Abel's  sacrifice,  and  leaving  Cain's  untouched  (1  Kings 
xviii.  38).  Paul  explains  the  Divine  preference  thus,  "  By 
faith  Abel  offered  unto  God  a  more  acceptable  sacrifice  than 


82  SACRET)  HISTORY. 

Cain,  by  which  he  obtained  witness  that  he  was  righteous,  God 
testifying  of  his  gifts  "  (Heb.  xi.  4).  The  apostle  makes  a 
distinction  between  the  persons  of  the  worshippers  and  tlieir 
gifts.  God  rejected  both  the  person  of  Cain,  and  his  offering  ; 
he  approved  both  the  person  of  Abel,  and  his  offering.  Atten- 
tion must  be  given  to  .the  order  in  which  the  persons  and  gifts 
are  mentioned.  Abel  was  a  good  man ;  he  was  "  righteous 
Abel,"  and  "  God  testified  of  his  gifts  that  he  was  righteous  ;  " 
Cain  was  that  "  wicked  one  who  slew  his  brother."  In  the 
dawn  of  human  history,  in  the  person  of  him  whose  oblation 
was  accepted  and  in  the  person  of  him  whose  oblation  was 
rejected,  God  made  it  plainly  known  that  "  the  sacrifice  of  the 
wicked  is  an  abomination  unto  the  Lord,  but  the  prayer  of 
the  upright  is  his  delight  "  (Pro v.  xv.  8). 

Moses  informs  us  that  they  differed  widely  also  in  the  matter 
of  their  sacrifices.  Abel  brought  a  living  animal,  whose  life 
was  in  its  blood,  the  choicest  of  his  flock,  and  slew  it  before  the 
Lord.  Cain  brought  the  fruits  of  the  earth,  the  best  of  their 
kind  perhaps,  but  bloodless.  The  gifts  differed,  also,  in  the 
motive  with  which  they  were  offered.  Abel  had  faith,  Cain 
had  none ;  and  for  this  reason,  Abel's  service  was  "  a  more 
acceptable  sacrifice  than  Cain's."  The  precise  nature  and 
extent  of  this  faith  has  not  been  determined.  Some  of  our 
best  interpreters  teach  us  that  Abel's  faith  led  him  to  make  a 
bloody  sacrifice  for  sin,  while  Cain's  unbelief  led  him  to  exclude, 
intentionally  perhaps,  the  idea  of  propitiation  from  his  offering ; 
even  as  the  theosophists  of  Paris,  in  the  revolution  of  1798,  by 
way  of  public  worship  laid  fruits  and  flowers  on  the  altar.  It 
is  thought  that  Abel's  offering  was  governed  by  the  incident 
recorded  in  Gen.  iii.  21 :  "  Unto  Adam  and  his  wife  did  the 
Lord  God  make  coats  of  skins,  and  clothed  them."  Animals,  it 
is  urged,  were  not  slain  in  paradise  for  food,  inasmuch  as  per- 
mission to  eat  flesh  was  not  granted  until  after  the  Deluge 
(Gen.  ix.  3).  Nor  may  we  say  that  Adam,  of  his  own  motion, 
slew  animals  for  their  skins :  the  Lord  himself  ordained  this 
mode  of  clothing.  From  this  it  has  been  inferred  that  victims 
were  slain  by  our  first  parents,  in  sacrifice  for  sin,  and  the  skins 


WAS  ABEL'S  A   SIN-OFFEBING  ?  83 

stained  with  blood  were  by  Divine  appointment  used  to  liide 
their  shame  and  guilt.  To  this  is  added  the  difficulty  of  believ- 
ing that  a  type  so  conspicuous,  of  the  Lamb  of  God,  should  not 
have  been  Divinely  ordained  from  the  beginning.  If  we  may 
assume  that  bloody  sacrifices  were  instituted  in  paradise,  and 
the  fact  was  known  to  the  brothers,  it  is  easy  to  explain  the 
acceptance  of  Abel's  offering  and  the  rejection  of  Cain's  offer- 
ing ;  and  we  have  before  us  examples,  not  uncommon,  of  the 
good  man  who  relies  on  the  atonement  for  salvation,  and  of 
the  bad  man  who  relies  on  his  morality.  And  yet  it  must  be 
said  that  the  origin  of  expiatory  sacrifice  in  Eden  is  left  in  a 
very  doubtful  position  in  the  record;  an  uncertainty  which 
opens  the  way  for  the  remark,  that  while  the  Divine  appoint- 
ment of  the  sabbath,  and  other  sacred  institutions,  is  carefully 
mentioned  in  the  Bible,  the  text  is,  confessedly,  all  but  silent 
in  resrard  to  the  origin  in  Eden  of  sacrifices  for  sin.  This 
suggestion  authorizes  us,  perhaps,  to  agree  with  Murphy  in 
leaving  the  origin  of  sacrifices  an  open  question,  and  to  agree 
with  Kurtz  in  holding  that  even  if  bloody  offerings  were  not 
ordained  in  Eden,  Abel's  gift  proceeded  from  a  more  profound 
appreciation  of  religious  truth  than  that  of  Cain,  and  was,  on 
that  account,  rightly  preferred. 

Straight  and  short  was  the  way  of  Cain  from  spurious  worship 
to  fratricide,  and  so  was  the  way  of  Abel  from  the  act  of  saving- 
faith  to  life  everlasting.  Cain  was  enraged  at  the  Divine  pref- 
erence for  Abel  and  his  offering.  His  countenance  fell ;  he 
scowled ;  he  was  angry  with  his  brother.  The  Almighty  gra- 
ciously expostulated  with  him :  "  Jehovah  said  to  Cain,  Why 
art  thou  wroth  ?  and  why  is  thy  countenance  fallen  ?  If  thou 
doest  well,  shalt  thou  not  be  accepted  ?  and  if  thou  doest  not 
well,  sin  lieth  [or  coucheth,  Eev.']  at  the  door :  and  unto  thee 
shall  be  his  desire,  and  thou  shalt  rule  over  him."  According  to 
a  widely  accepted  interpretation,  the  sense  of  the  expostulation 
is :  "  If  Cain  behaved  well,  God  would  accept  him  ;  if  wickedly, 
then  sin  would  crouch  like  a  wild  beast  at  the  door  of  his  soul ; 
its  appetite  would  be  whetted  for  him,  but  he  ought  to  rule 
over  it." 


84  SACRED  BISTORT. 

An  important  modification  of  tliis  explanation  was  first 
suggested  by  Professor  Stephen  Yerkes  of  tlie  Danville  Theolo- 
gical Seminary.  It  was  drawn  from  him  by  the  writer  of  these 
pages,  who  asked  him  to  examine  critically  the  Hebrew  text. 
Dr.  Yerkes  says,  — 

"  In  Gen.  iv.  6,  the  Lord  says  to  Cain,  Why  art  thou  wroth  ? 
And  why  is  thy  countenance  fallen  ?  In  reference  to  this  word 
fallen,  the  Lord  adds,  '  If  thou  doest  well,  shall  there  not  be  a 
Uf ting-up '  (Heb.,  seth),  i.e.,  a  lifting-up  of  your  countenance  ? 
the  exact  opposite  of  what  is  implied  in  the  falling  of  the  coun- 
tenance. And  as  to  his  brother,  with  whom  he  is  now  tvroth, 
because  he  (Abel)  had  been  exalted  above  him  by  the  accept- 
ance of  his  offering,  the  Lord  says  to  Cain,  Unto  thee  shall  be 
his  desire,  and  thou  shalt  rule  over  him ;  i.e.,  he  shall  be  in  a 
state  of  subordination  to  thee,  —  thou  shalt  be  exalted  above 
him.  But  between  these  two  parts  of  the  promise,  which  is 
made  on  condition  of  Cain's  well  doing,  is  interjected  the 
dreadful  menace  in  case  he  does  wrong :  '  But  if  thou  doest  not' 
well,  sin  is  crouching  at  the  door ; '  crouching  as  a  wild  beast 
ready  to  spring  upon,  and  devour  him  ;  or,  sin  is  a  croucher 
(Heb.,  rohets)  at  the  door,  as  Fuerst  puts  it  in  his  lexicon.  Now, 
this  threat,  interposed  between  the  two  parts  of  the  promise,  is 
to  be  taken  as  a  parenthesis,  and  the  sense  as  follows:  'If 
thou  doest  well,  shall  there  not  be  a  lifting-up  of  thy  counte- 
nance? (but  if  thou  doest  not  well,  sin  is  crouching  at  the 
door;)  and  unto  thee  shall  be  his  (Abel's)  desire,  and  thou 
shalt  rule  over  him.'  I  take  it  that  the  suffixed  pronouns  in 
the  last  clause  undoubtedly  refer  to  Abel." 

Another  explanation  has  been  obtained  (1)  by  recognizing 
the  fact  that  the  Hebrew  word  for  sin  may  be  translated  a  sin- 
offering  :  (2)  by  showing  that  the  pronouns  "  his  "  and  "  him  " 
refer  to  Abel ;  and  (3)  by  resorting  to  a  well-known  meaning  of 
the  Hebrew  word  for  "  lieth  "  or  "  croucheth." 

1.  The  Hebrew  word  hdt-tdth,  although  repeatedly  translated 
sin  in  the  English  version,  is  rendered  sin-offeriiig  in  eighty-four 
places  in  the  Books  of  Exodus,  Leviticus,  and  Numbers ;  twelve 
times  in  a  single  chapter  (Num.  vii.),  and  twenty-three  times 


EXEGESIS  OF  GEJSf.    IV.   6,  7.  85 

in  the  later  scriptures.  Thus,  "Thou  shalt  offer  every  day  a 
bullock  for  a  sin-offering  ior  a,n  atonement"  (Exod.  xxix.  36). 
After  the  same  manner  the  Greek  word  for  sin  is  used  for  sin- 
offering  in  2  Cor.  v.  21 :  "  For  he  hath  made  him  to  be  sin  "  (a 
sin-offering)  "  for  us,  who  knew  no  sin."  This  rendering  being- 
adopted,  the  place  will  read :  "  If  thou  doest  not  well,  a  sin- 
offerinsf  lieth  at  the  door."  In  this  sense  the  word  is  taken  in 
the  place  before  us  by  many  scholars,  among  whom  are  Arch- 
bishop Magee,  Lightfoot,  Kennicott,  Candlish,  and  Jacobus. 

2.  The  pronouns  "  his  "  and  "  him  "  doubtless  point  to  Abel, 
not  to  sin  ;  sin  being  in  the  feminine  would  be  naturally  followed 
by  her,  or  its  and  it.  The  clause  then  reads,  "  Unto  thee,  Cain, 
shall  be  Abel's  desire,  and  thou  shalt  rule  over  him."  It  is  a 
significant  circumstance,  that  God  here  repeats  to  Cain  what  he 
said  to  Eve,  describing  her  loving  subordination  to  her  husband : 
"  Thy  desire  shall  be  to  thy  husband,  and  he  shall  rule  over 
thee  "  (Gen.  iii.  16).  It  is  hard  to  believe  that  God  employed 
the  beautiful  language  by  which  he  had  described  Eve's  wifely 
relation  to  Adam,  to  describe  the  sin  of  her  son  as  a  wild  beast 
crouching  at  the  door  for  the  fatal  spring. 

3.  "  Sin  lieth  "  (croucheth,  Bev.)  "  at  the  door."  Gesenius  says 
that  the  Hebrew  word  ro-hets  generally  signifies  "  to  lie  doAvn 
(cubuit,  recubuit)  as  quadrupeds  with  their  feet  under  the  breast." 
Thus  "  Jacob  looked,  and  beheld  a  well  in  the  field,  and  lo,  there 
were  three  flocks  Iging  by  it"  (Gen.  xxix.  2).  "He  maketh 
me  to  lie  down  (Hiphil  conj.)  in  green  pastures"  (Ps.  xxiii.  2). 
"  Where  thou  feedest  thy  flock,  where  thou  makest  it  to  rest  at 
noon "  (Song  of  Solomon,  i.  7).  Gesenius,  however,  follows 
the  common  interpretation  of  the  place  before  us.  He  says, 
"  Specially,  sin  croucheth  (lurketh)  at  thy  door,  i.e.,  sin  lieth  in 
wait  for  thee,  as  a  wild  beast  crouching  at  thy  door."  But  as 
we  have  seen,  Gesenius  teaches  us  also,  that  the  primary  signi- 
fication of  the  Hebrew  word  is  "  to  lie  down,"  or  "  to  repose," 
like  sheep  or  goats.  If  these  three  renderings  of  the  Hebrew 
lext  be  adopted,  the  sense  of  Jehovah's  expostulation  with  Cain 
will  be  substantially,  "  Why  art  thou  angry  with  thy  brother  ? 
why  thy  fallen  or  sullen   countenance?     If  thou   doest  well, 


86  SACRED  HISTORY. 

shall  it  not  be  lifted  up  in  token  of  conscious  acceptance  with 
God  ?  If  thou  doest  not  well,  a  sin-offering,  like  Abel's,  lieth 
at  thy  very  door:  it  is  not  far  to  seek,  it  is  nigh  thee.  Present 
this  offering  in  faith,  and  Abel's  heart  will  turn  in  love  upon 
thee ;  and  thou,  as  his  elder  brother,  shalt  have  pre-eminence 
over  him."  This  interpretation  recommends  itself  by  present- 
ing Jehovah  in  the  attitude  of  mercy,  rather  than  of  menace, 
towards  the  first-born  of  the  race.  It  acquaints  us  also  with  one 
of  the  methods  by  which  the  precious  things  of  the  gospel  were 
made  known  to  Adam  and  his  children  while  they  were  linger- 
ing about  the  gates  of  Eden.  It  is  believed  that  we  may  safely 
adopt  such  an  interpretation.  And  with  these  contributions  to 
the  solution  of  the  problem  we  may  resume  the  narrative. 

Cain  went  out  from  the  presence  of  the  Lord,  enticed  Abel 
into  a  lonely  field  or  forest,  and  slew  him.  And  so  ended  the 
first  assault  of  the  seed  of  the  serpent  on  the  seed  of  the  woman. 
Righteous  Abel  represented  the  seed  of  the  woman.  "  He 
obtained  witness  that  he  was  righteous,  God  testifying  of  his 
gifts "  (Matt,  xxiii.  35 ;  Heb.  xi.  4).  Not  less  certain  is  it 
that  Cain  represented  the  seed  of  the  serpent.  For  he  was  a 
murderer,  the  first  on  earth  to  strike  at  the  image  of  God  in 
man.  Next,  the  crime  was  deliberate,  committed  in  cold  blood, 
and  in  spite  of  God's  forewarning  against  the  unnatural  purpose, 
while  as  yet  it  was  concealed  in  his  bosom.  Treacherous,  also, 
was  it ;  done  in  a  secret  place,  to  which  he  allured  his  victim. 
It  was,  moreover,  unprovoked ;  perpetrated  not  in  self-defence, 
or  even  for  plunder.  He  could  not  plead  the  impulse  to 
revenge  an  insult,  or  a  blow,  or  an  imputation  of  dishonor. 
It  was  a  crime  simply  malignant,  a  murder  without  a  passion 
other  than  one  most  brutal,  and,  worse  than  that,  most  diabolical. 
Further,  it  was  a  fratricide ;  branded  in  the  narrative  by  the 
use  of  the  endearing  word  "  brother,"  repeated  seven  times,  — 
three  times  by  God  himself.  And,  further  still,  the  parents  of 
both  the  assassin  and  his  victim  were  still  living.  In  the  bruised 
and  lifeless  body  of  Abel,  the  unhappy  pair  saw,  perhaps  for  the 
first  time,  the  terror  of  death,  and  the  execution  of  this  part  of 
the  dreadful  sentence  of  sin ;  a  terror  and  sentence  inflicted  by 


CAIN'S  SENTENCE.  87 

one  of  their  sons  on  the  other.  And,  finally,  the  crime  of  Cain 
showed  that  he  was  at  open  enmity  with  God  himself.  He  slew 
his  brother  "  because  his  own  works  were  evil,  and  his  brother's 
righteous"  (1  John  iii.  12).  John  says  "he  was  of  that  evil 
one,"  meaning  that  he  was  a  child  of  the  Devil,  and  an  enemy 
of  all  righteousness  and  of  a  righteous  God.  He  could  not 
smite  the  Almighty,  whose  awful  frown  had  fallen  like  a  curse 
on  his  bloodless  offering ;  he  struck,  therefore,  at  the  image  of 
God  in  Abel,  —  even  as,  long  afterwards,  Saul  of  Tarsus  perse- 
cuted Christ  in  the  persons  of  his  saints  (Acts  ix.  4,  5).  More 
than  that,  when  God  arraigned  him  for  his  crime,  he  confronted, 
most  insolently,  his  Judge  with  a  lie  and  a  sneer.  "  The  Lord 
said  unto  Cain,  Where  is  Abel  thy  brother  ?  And  he  said,  I 
know  not :  "  there  was  the  lie.  "  Am  I  my  brother's  keeper  ?  " 
there  was  the  sneer.  He  denied  his  guilt,  and  charged  the 
Almighty  with  impertinence ;  combining,  in  the  assassination 
and  falsehood,  malice  towards  his  brother,  with  blasphemy 
towards  God.  The  black  inspiration  which  Satan  breathed 
into  the  answer  of  our  fallen  parents  to  Jehovah,  in  Gen.  iii. 
9-12,  betrays  itself,  with  renewed  insolence,  in  Cain's  reply. 
.  The  judgment  of  the  Lord  upon  the  guilty  man  took  its  form 
from  the  voice  that  went  up  from  the  earth,  and  from  the  occu- 
pation of  the  murderer,  —  the  tillage  of  the  soil.  Blood — or,  as 
the  Hebrew  reads,  drops  of  blood  —  cried  aloud  for  vengeance. 
Similar  cries  are  elsewhere  mentioned,  —  the  cry  of  the  wicked- 
ness of  Sodom  and  Gomorrah;  the  cry  of  the  oppressed 
Hebrews  in  Egypt ;  the  cry  of  laborers  defrauded  of  their 
wages  (Gen.  xviii.  20;  Exod.  iii.  9;  Jas.  v.  4).  Abel's  blood 
disappeared  in  the  dust;  but  its  voice  could  not  be  silenced, 
for  "  the  Lord  maketh  inquisition  for  blood."  Next,  the  Lord 
visited  with  a  curse  the  business  of  Cain ;  and  bitter  is  the 
calamity  which  falls  on  the  source  of  one's  daily  bread.  The 
ioil  which  the  murderer  habitually  cultivated  had  been  already 
cursed  for  man's  sake ;  now  it  became,  as  if  infected  with 
blood-poison,  sterile  beneath  his  feet.  The  earth  shot  at  him  a 
double  curse  :  cursed  was  it  passively,  and  cursing  him  actively. 
For  another  element  in  the   judgment,  the  Lord  condemned 


88  SACRED  HISTOBY. 

him  to  the  life  of  a  runaway  convict  and  of  a  miserable  tramp. 
The  instinct  of  a  murderer  is  always  flight.  He  is  driven  away, 
not  only  by  fears,  but  by  the  restlessness  of  guilt.  He  cannot 
endure  the  frightful  associations  of  the  place  where  the  earth 
has  received  the  blood  of  his  victim.  "  How  much,"  says  John 
Foster,  "  there  is  in  a  thousand  spots  of  the  earth,  that  is 
invisible  and  silent  to  all  but  the  conscious  individual ! " 

"  I  hear  a  voice  you  cannot  hear ; 
I  see  a  hand  you  cannot  see." 

The  pitiful  cry  of  Cain  was,  "  My  punishment  is  greater  than 
I  can  bear ! "  —  my  punishment,  not  my  guilt ;  the  cry  of  re- 
morse, imbittered  by  impenitence  and  despair.  Then  follows 
Cain's  lamentation  :  "  I  am  an  exile  from  home,  I  am  an  outcast 
from  the  favor  and  protection  of  the  Lord,  and  every  one  that 
finds  me  shall  slay  me."  But  the  Lord  answered  that  his  life 
should  be  spared  from  the  bloody  retribution  which  he  deserved 
and  feared.  Sevenfold  vengeance  should  be  visited  upon  whom- 
soever should  slay  him.  It  is  certain  that  a  visible  and  indeli- 
ble mark  was  set  upon  the  person  of  Cain,  otherwise  it  had  not 
served  its  purpose.  It  is  useless  to  inquire  what  the  mark 
looked  like,  and  on  what  member  of  Cain's  person  it  was  set. 
But  why  was  his  life  spared  ?  In  the  absence  of  any  explanation 
in  the  record,  we  may,  under  correction,  suggest  that  God  had 
not  yet  given  to  man  power  to  inflict  capital  punishment.  Or 
perhaps,  as  Kalisch  suggests,  a  long,  laborious  exile,  with  the 
fear  of  sanguinary  retribution  perpetually  impending,  was 
equivalent  to  death.  Another  conjecture  may  be,  that  God  saw 
proper  to  make  in  Cain,  and  in  the  curse  and  visible  mark 
which  he  carried  about  Avith  him,  a  long-lived  example  of  the 
Divine  anger  against  the  crime  of  murder.  Finally,  remember- 
ing the  infinite  mercy  of  our  Father,  we  may  presume  that  God 
spared  the  life  of  Cain  to  give  him  space  for  repentance. 

Another  profound  idea  in  the  first  promise  is  pointed  out  in  the 
narrative.  The  head  of  the  serpent  should  be  bruised,  the  heel 
of  the  woman's  seed  should  be  bitten.  It  is  true  that  Abel  was 
slain,  and  Cain  survived.     But  Cain  was  punished  by  perpetual 


THE  CAINITE   CIVILIZATION.  89 

remorse  and  despair.  His  past  and  his  future  were  veiled  in 
gloom.  He  was  an  outcast  from  his  father's  house,  and  God 
had  hidden  his  face  from  him.  From  the  earth  under  his  feet 
Divine  maledictions  sprang  up  along  the  pathway  in  which  he 
dragged  out  his  exile.  Even  the  sign  that  protected  him  from 
a  bloody  retaliation,  branded  him  as  an  unforgiven  fratricide. 
"  The  early  death  of  Abel,"  as  Kalisch  remarks,  "  was  no  curse, 
and  the  long  life  of  Cain  was  no  blessing." 

Moses  now  passes  from  Cain  to  his  descendants.  He  de- 
scribes their  exile  from  the  gates  of  Eden,  their  settlement  in 
a  new  home,  their  expansion  into  a  powerful  tribe,  and  their 
position  as  the  seed  of  the  serpent.  The  birth  of  Seth  follows, 
with  the  increase  of  his  posterity,  and  their  position  as  the 
seed  of  the  woman. 

Gen.  iv.  16-24.  —  After  the  death  of  Abel,  Cain  wandered 
in  an  easterly  direction  as  far  as  the  land  of  Nod.  The  geogra- 
phy of  Nod  cannot  be  defined.  The  name  signifies  tlie  land  of 
Exilq  or  Flight ;  contrasting  Eden,  the  land  of  Delight.  Cain 
took  with  him  one  of  his  sisters  as  his  wife.  The  marriage 
between  brothers  and  sisters  in  this  family  was  plainly  unavoid- 
able. These  alliances  yield  one  important  result.  The  doctrine 
of  the  absolute  unity  of  the  race  is  derived  from  the  creation  of 
one  man,  and  the  formation  of  his  one  wife  from  his  person ; 
and  that  unity  was  distinctly  maintained  by  the  intermarriage 
of  the  sons  and  daughters  of  the  first  pair. 

Cain  introduced  a  new  form  of  society  by  building  a  city  or 
fortress,  calling  it  Enoch,  from  the  name  of  his  oldest  son.  In 
the  silence  of  the  record,  we  cannot  judge  whether  he  sought 
relief  in  town-building  from  the  curse  which  drove  him  from 
the  tilling  of  the  soil ;  or  hoped  to  mitigate  the  ills  of  his 
exile  ;  or  was  attracted  by  the  soil,  climate,  and  other  natural 
advantages  of  his  new  home.  But  the  measure  introduced  a 
new  epocli  in  human  history,  and  with  it  a  new  civilization. 
Passing  over  the  uneventful  period  covered  by  four  generations 
of  Cainites,  the  historian  comes  down  to  Lamech.  From  this 
one  man,  and  in  his  remarkable  family  of  three  sons  and  one 
daughter,  the  new  civilization  received  its  type. 


90  SACRED  FII STORY. 

The  first  element  was  supplied  by  Lamech  himself.  He  took 
two  wives.  Their  names  describe  personal  attractions :  Adah, 
the  Beautiful ;  and  Zillah,  the  Shady  or  Tinkling.  Here  began 
polygamy,  —  the  development  of  ungodliness,  indecency,  and 
incipient  heathenism  ;  in  marriage  dishonored  and  polluted,  and 
in  the  degradation  of  woman.  Other  elements  in  this  civiliza- 
tion were  supplied  by  Lamech's  sons.  Jabal,  or  Profit,  origin- 
ated the  pastoral  life  of  the  Eastern  tribes,  introducing  the 
tent  for  the  accommodation  of  the  cattle-raisers  and  their  flocks 
and  herds.  By  the  revenue  derived  from  this  pursuit,  the 
means  were  provided  for  a  life  of  luxury.  Jubal,  another  son 
of  Lamech,  invented  the  harp  and  organ,  stringed  and  wind 
instruments,  and  with  them,  doubtless,  the  science  and  art  of 
music.  To  this  sesthetical  element  in  the  Cainite  mode  of  life, 
a  third  son  of  Lamech  added  one  of  a  tougher  fibre,  the  work- 
ing in  metals  and  the  use  of  edge-tools.  His  name  was  Tubal- 
cain,  the  Forger  of  Brass  and  Iron.  The  industries  of  the 
three  brothers,  in  the  manufacture  of  musical  instruments,  tent- 
making,  the  working  in  metals,  the  production  of  edge-tools, 
with  the  implements  of  husbandry  and  war,  indicate  great 
progress  in  mining,  smelting,  spinning,  weaving,  and  the  forging 
and  polishing  of  brass  and  iron.  And  then  the  daughter  of 
the  house,  Naamah,  the  Lovely,  gave  to  the  family  and  to  soci- 
ety the  charms  of  womanhood.  But  the  picture  of  the  times  is 
not  complete  until  we  bring  forward  again  Lamech,  the  head  of 
the  family.  He  had  killed  his  man ;  and  he  exceeded  the  hardi- 
hood of  his  ancestor  Cain,  by  an  open  defiance  of  justice, 
human  and  Divine.  He  became  a  poet  for  the  occasion,  and 
composed  a  "  song  of  the  sword,"  which  he  sang  in  the  audi- 
ence of  his  two  wives,  —  taking  inspiration  from  lust  and  ven- 
geance.    The  song  is  in  these  words  :  — 

"  Adah  and  Zillah,  hear  my  voice ; 

Ye  wives  of  Lamech,  hearken  unto  my  speech : 
For  I  have  slain  a  man  for  wounding  me, 

And  a  young  man  for  bruising  me : 
If  Cain  shall  be  avenged  sevenfold. 

Truly  Lamech  seventy  and  sevenfold."     {Rev.  Ver.) 


SOCIETY  7JV  THE  LAND   OF  XOD.  91 

This  ode,  considered  as  a  product  of  thought,  is  worthy  of 
attention,  because  it  is  the  oldest  lyrical  fragment  in  all  litera- 
ture, its  date  being  fixed  at  more  than  twelve  hundred  years 
before  the  Deluge.  It  exhibits,  moreover,  in  perfection,  one  of 
the  leading  characteristics  of  Hebrew  poetry  denominated  par- 
allelism. The  harmony  in  the  versification  arises  not  from 
rhyme,  but  from  the  use  of  a  measured  couplet,  wherein  the 
sentiment  of  the  first  line  is  repeated  in  the  second  line,  in 
other  terms,  and  with  an  added  emphasis.  The  parallelism  is 
of  three  kinds :  the  synonymous,  antithetic,  and  synthetic.  In 
Lamech's  ode,  it  is  synonymous,  each  couplet  being  repetitious. 
Lamech  relied  for  self-defence  on  the  weapons  forged  by  his  son 
Tubal-cain.  The  import  of  the  song  is  that  Cain  was  shielded 
from  punishment  by  the  Divine  protection  :  Lamech  is  armed, 
and  can  take  care  of  himself.  God  would  inflict  sevenfold 
vengeance  on  the  man  who  should  lay  hands  on  Cain  :  Lamech 
will  retaliate  an  attack  upon  him  seventy  times  seven,  for  his 
power  is  increased  by  the  arms  he  carries  elevenfold.^  Such  is 
the  picture  of  Lamech's  family,  and  of  the  corrupt  form  of 
society  of  which  they  were  the  founders.  Drechsler  remarks, 
"  The  history  of  the  Cainites  began  with  a  deed  of  murder,  and 
ended  with  a  song  of  murder."  Society  in  the  land  of  Nod 
took  its  character  from  this  family :  poetry,  lust,  and  murder, 
from  the  patriarch  ;  music,  and  the  arts  of  industry,  and  the 
implements  of  war,  from  the  sons ;  social  attractiveness,  from 
the  wives  and  the  daughter.  No  mention  is  made  of  the  name 
of  Jehovah,  or  of  his  worship,  or  of  his  dealings  with  men, 
except  in  Lamech's  allusion  to  the  protection  granted  to  tlie 
first  murderer.  The  Cainite  civilization  foreshadowed  the  civil- 
ization of  Babylon,  of  Corinth,  of  Paris  in  1798, — an  accumu- 
lation of  wealth,  cultivation,  profligacy,  ferocity,  and  desperate 
ungodliness.  The  Cainite  race  represented,  with  a  certain 
terrific  loyalty,  the  seed  of  the  serpent.  From  the  outcast 
race  Moses  turns,  by  a  natural  transition,  to  the  seed  of  the 
woman. 

Gen.  vi.  1-8.  —  Shortly  after  the  death  of  Abel,  another  son 

1  Lenormant. 


92  SACRED  HISTORY. 

"was  born  to  our  first  parents.  Eve  called  his  name  Seth, 
Appointed  or  Substituted ;  for,  said  she,  "  God  hath  given  me 
another  seed  instead  of  Abel  whom  Cain  slew."  The  giving  of 
this  name  indicated  in  Eve  a  good  hope,  if  not  an  abiding  faith, 
in  the  promise  of  a  holy  seed ;  and  a  belief  that  this  seed, 
destroyed  in  the  death  of  Abel,  was  to  be  renewed  in  Seth. 
But  Moses  is  careful  to  add,  that,  while  Adam  was  created  in 
the  image  of  God,  Seth  was  born  in  the  likeness  of  the  fallen 
Adam  ;  that  is  to  say,  with  a  darkened  understanding,  dej^raved 
affections,  and  a  dying  body.  This  explanation  prepares  the 
way  for  the  subsequent  revelation  of  other  momentous  truths. 
First,  the  new  birth  is  not  communicated  by  ordinary  genera- 
tion from  godly  parents  to  their  children,  but  by  the  Holy 
Spirit  in  a  supernatural  regeneration.  Next,  the  wickedness  of 
Seth's  posterity  became  great  on  the  earth  in  the  days  of  Noah. 
Again,  the  seed  of  the  woman,  in  Jesus,  its  consummate  repre- 
sentative, was  begotten,  not  of  any  son  of  Adam  after  his  own 
likeness,  but  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  in  "  the  brightness  of  God's 
glory,  and  the  express  image  of  his  person." 

The  historical  position  of  the  Sethites,  as  the  chosen  race 
indicated  in  the  oracle  which  attended  his  birth,  is  more  fully 
set  forth  in  the  fifth  chapter  of  Genesis.  A  comparative  view 
of  the  descendants  of  Seth  and  Cain  may  be  helpful,  although 
we  do  not  know  who  of  the  sons  of  Seth  and  Cain  were 
contemporaries  ;  whether  or  not,  for  example,  righteous  Enoch, 
of  Seth,  lived  in  the  days  of  the  ruffian  Lamech,  of  Cain. 

SETHITES.  CAINITES. 

Seth,  Cain, 

Enosh,  Enoch, 

Kenan,  Irad, 

Mahalalel,  Mehujael, 

Jared,  Methushael, 

Enoch,  Lamech, 

Methuselah,  (1)  Jabal,  (2)  Jubal,  both  of  Adah  ; 

Lamech,  (3)  Tubal-caiu,  (4)  Naamah,  both 

Noah,  of  ZiUah. 

(1)  Shem,  (2)  Ham,  (3)  Japheth. 


THE  TWO  RACES.  93 

Sceptical  criticism  has  professed  to  detect  in  the  similarity  of 
these  names,  evidences  of  a  mythical  origin.  But  these  resem- 
blances are  few  in  number,  and  such  only  as  might  naturally 
arise  in  two  branches  of  the  same  stock,  and  from  the  inter- 
course between  them  which  is  known  to  have  existed.  These 
registers,  in  the  first  place,  bring  down  the  line  of  Seth,  through 
nine  generations,  to  the  sons  of  Noah,  and  within  sight  of  the 
bridge  across  the  Flood,  over  which  the  Sethites  passed  into  the 
possession  of  the  renovated  earth.  But  the  genealogy  of 
the  other  seed  is  suddenly  broken  off  at  the  family  of  Lamech, 
the  sixth  from  Cain,  the  curtain  falling  upon  the  race  at  the 
culmination  of  its  profligate  and  barbaric  career.  Again,  in 
Seth,  the  line  of  this  holy  patriarch,  beginning  with  Adam,  was 
continued  through  Enoch,  Noah,  and  Shem,  to  Abraliam  and 
his  immediate  descendants.  Out  of  their  loins  proceeded  the 
chosen  people  of  God,  and  in  due  time  Christ  appeared,  the 
Divine  glory  of  the  chosen  seed.  Luke,  in  his  genealogy  of 
Christ,  is  careful  to  name  every  man  who  stood  in  the  Sethite 
succession.  On  the  other  hand,  not  one  of  these  patriarchs 
appears  in  the  line  of  Cain.  Moreover,  the  age  of  each  of  the 
Sethite  fathers  at  the  birth  of  his  son,  in  the  royal  pedigree, 
together  with  his  age  at  death,  is  carefully  recorded  ;  while 
these  details  in  regard  to  the  Cainites  are  suppressed,  in  token 
of  their  insignificance  in  the  subsequent  history.  Further,  the 
three  or  four  holy  patriarchs  who  were  raised  up  in  the  favored 
race,  contrast  the  impious  chiefs  in  the  outcast  race.  At  the 
birth  of  Enoch,  his  father  Cain  was  laying,  in  the  building  of  a 
city,  the  foundation  of  a  godless  kingdom  ;  while  in  the  days  of 
Enosh,  Seth's  son,  his  family  was  invoking  the  name  of  Jehovah 
the  God  of  grace.  About  five  hundred  years  later,  Enoch, 
the  seventh  from  Adam,  was  found  walking  with  God  ;  but 
Lamech  of  Cain,  being  also  the  seventh  from  Adam,  introduced 
polygamy  into  the  unhappy  land  of  Nod.  Our  attention  has 
been  attracted  by  the  earliest  known  example  of  lyric  poetry; 
and  now  we  find  that  Enoch  of  Seth  also  composed,  by  the 
spirit  of  prophecy,  a  hymn  of  judgment,  answering  back  to 
the  song  of  the  sword,  composed  and  sung  by  Lamech  of  Cain, 


94  SACRED  HI  STORY. 

in  the  spirit  of  his  ancestor.  We  have  heard  Lamech's  ode  ; 
let  us  attend  to  Enoch's  anthem  :  — 

"  Behold,  the  Lord  cometh 

With  ten  thousand  of  his  holy  ones, 
To  execute  judgment  upon  all, 

And  to  convince  all  that  are  ungodly  of  all  their  works  of  ungodliness 

which  they  have  ungodly  wrought, 
And  of  all  the  hard  things  which  ungodly  sinners  have  spoken  against 
him  "  (Jude  14,  15). 

The  holy  anthem  of  Enoch,  and  the  ribald  song  of  Lamech, 
represent,  not  unfairly,  the  historical  position  of  the  seed  of  the 
woman  and  the  seed  of  the  serpent,  and  the  relation  of  each  to 
the  kingdom  of  God.  The  genealogy  of  Cain  closes  with  the 
three  sons  of  Lamech,  and  his  unhappy  race  make  their  way 
through  obscurity  towards  extermination  by  the  waters  of  the 
Flood.  The  genealogy  of  Seth  is  carefully  continued  from 
Enoch,  through  each  successive  generation,  down  to  Noah  and 
his  three  sons,  the  appointed  heirs  of  the  new  world. 


THE  "  SONS  OF  GOD.''  95 


CHAPTER  VII. 

THE    SECOND     APOSTASY. 

The  first  apostasy  was  that  of  Adam  and  Eve  in  paradise. 
In  them  the  whole  human  race  departed  from  God ;  they  com- 
posed at  the  time  the  entire  family  of  man,  and  they  represented 
all  their  posterity  in  the  covenant  of  works.  Another  occurred 
in  the  Sethite  portion  of  the  race,  in  which  the  promised  seed 
had  been  renewed  after  the  death  of  Abel.  This  second  apos- 
tasy took  its  origin  from  the  unrestrained  intermarriage  of  tlie 
sons  of  God,  or  the  Sethites,  with  the  daughters  of  men,  or 
the  Cainites,  and  perhaps  with  ungodly  women  among  the 
daughters  of  Seth.  By  a  singular  anomaly  in  biblical  interpre- 
,  tation,  distinguished  scholars,  ancient  and  modern,  have  held 
that  these  "  sons  of  God  "  were  angels.  That  rationalists  such 
as  Von  Bohlen,  Ewald,  and  Kalisch,  should  accept  this  explana- 
tion, is  quite  natural,  since  it  supports  the  mythical  or  fabulous 
origin  of  this  part  of  sacred  history.  They  profess  to  discover 
parallel  representations  in  the  Persian  myths  in  regard  to 
Ahiram  and  his  evil  spirits ;  in  the  love  of  the  gods  for  the 
beautiful  daughters  of  earth,  in  Grecian  song ;  in  the  marriages 
between  the  nymphs  and  divine  heroes,  in  the  Hindoo  mythol- 
ogy, and  in  the  story  of  the  giants,  three  thousand  feet  high, 
the  offspring  of  these  marriages.  ^  It  is  difficult  to  account  for 
the  countenance  given  to  this  caprice  by  such  scholars  as  Justin 
Martyr,  Tertullian,  and  Cyprian,  among  the  early  Fathers ;  to- 
gether with  Baumgarten,  Delitzsch,  Alford,  and  Kurtz,  among 
modern  writers.  But  the  later  Fathers,  notably  Chrysostom, 
Theodoret,  Cyril  of  Alexandria,  Augustine,  and  Jerome,  with 

1  Kaliscb  on  Genesis,  p.  1(32. 


96  SACRED  HISTORY. 

Luther  and  Calvin  among  the  Reformers,  and  the  great  majority 
of  modern  interpreters,  unite  in  rejecting  this  view.i  Nothing 
could  be  more  preposterous  than  the  vagarj^  of  the  intermarriage 
of  angels  with  the  daughters  of  men,  unless  it  be  the  vagary 
that  the  corruption  of  the  antediluvians  was  brought  down  from 
heaven  by  the  holy  angels.  The  obvious  sense  of  the  text 
'  corresponds  with  the  plan  of  the  narrative.  The  statement 
that  "  the  sons  of  God  "  (the  Sethites)  "  saw  the  daughters  of 
men  "  (the  Cainites)  "  that  they  were  fair,"  corresponds  to  what 
is  said  before  of  the  sensuous  charm  of  the  wives  and  daughter  of 
Lamech.  The  words,  "  they  took  them  wives  of  all  which  they 
chose,"  indicate,  it  may  be,  not  only  the  mixed  marriages,  but 
the  introduction  among  the  Sethites  of  the  Cainite  usage  of 
polygamy.  Their  progeny,  moreover,  is  such  as  might  be  ex- 
pected to  proceed  from  these  unhallowed  alliances.  Some  of 
their  offspring  were  giants,  or  monsters  of  iniquity ;  men  of 
enormous  size,  prodigious  strength  of  limb,  and  brutal  instincts, 
like  the  sons  of  Anak,  like  the  giant  kings  of  Bashan,  like  the 
giant  in  Gath,  and  his  four  sons,  who  fell  by  the  hand  of  David 
and  his  servants  (Num.  xiii.  33  ;  Josh.  xii.  4 ;  2  Sam.  xxi.  16 
seq.y  After  the  giants,  there  came  Nephalim,  or  heroes,  war- 
riors, less  lawless  than  their  colossal  kinsmen,  resembling  the 
guerrillas  and  freebooters  of  modern  times.  These  all  filled 
the  earth  with  violence  (Gen.  vi.  13). 

The  record  affords  a  few  hints  in  regard  to  the  beginning  and 
progress  of  the  falling-away.  The  early  piety  of  the  Sethites 
was  answerable  to  their  Divine  calling.  In  the  days  of  Enosh, 
Seth's  son,  men  began  to  call  upon  the  name  of  Jehovah.  This 
use  of  the  covenant  name  of  Jehovah  shows  that  they  rested 
upon  his  promise  of  redemption.  It  is  evident  also  that  in 
their  time  the  ordinances  of  primeval  worship  were  sufficiently 
enlarged  to  include  with  the  ritual  of  sacrifice  the  offices  of 
prayer,  thanksgiving,  and  praise.  There  is  reason  to  believe 
that  the  apostasy  had  made  great  progress  in  the  days  of  Enoch, 
the  patriarch  who  lived  in  the  period  about  half  way  from  Seth 
to  Noah.     Enoch's  prophecy  respecting  the  day  of  vengeance 

1  Speak.  Com.,  Gen.,  p,  65. 


PROGRESS   OF  THE  APOSTASY.  97 

has  been  already  cited.  It  is  right  to  infer  that  his  warnings 
were  not  addressed  to  the  Cainites  in  the  hmd  of  Nod  apart 
from  the  Sethites  at  the  gates  of  Eden,  but  to  the  offspring  of 
the  promiscuous  marriages  whereby  corruption  had  already 
begun  to  work  in  the  chosen  seed.  Traces  of  its  further 
progress  appear  in  what  is  said  of  Lamech,  Enoch's  grandson. 
Wearied  with  the  toil  required  to  wring  subsistence  from  the 
reluctant  earth,  and  oppressed  with  the  growth  of  wickedness 
around  him,  Lamech  was  led  to  look  to  his  son  as  in  some  way 
identified  with  the  sorely  needed  relief.  He  called  his  name 
Noah,  Rest  or  Comfort. 

In  due  time  God  revealed  his  sense  of  the  nature  and  extent 
of  the  apostasy.  Through  the  period  of  a  hundred  and  twenty 
years,  he  threatened  to  withdraw,  judicially,  the  restraints  of  his 
Holy  Spirit  from  the  wicked,  and  allow  them  to  have  their  own 
way ;  for,  said  he,  "  they  are  flesh,"  carnal,  depraved.  When 
the  violence  introduced  by  the  giants  and  the  men  of  bad  fame 
had  culminated,  God  saw  that  the  iniquity  was  high-handed 
and  abounding,  and  perceived,  that  their  inmost  thoughts,  and 
the  "  imagination  of  their  thoughts,"  even  the  deep-seated 
affections  out  of  which  their  thoughts  sprang,  were  evil,  nothing 
but  evil,  and  evil  all  the  time.  Still  later,  having  remarked 
that  righteous  Noah  was  accepted  of  God,  the  historian  declares 
that  "the  earth  was  corrupt  before  God,"  and  "all  flesh  had 
corrupted  its  way  upon  the  earth."  These  representations  char- 
acterize sufficiently  the  apostasy,  and  vindicate  the  dealings  of 
God  with  the  apostates. 

The  history  shows,  first,  that  "  it  repented  God  that  he  had 
created  man ;  it  grieved  him  at  his  heart."  These  are  strong 
anthropopathetic  expressions,  the  nature  and  grounds  of  which 
have  been  already  explained.^  They  are  borrowed  from  the 
ordinary  language  of  men,  to  represent  the  Divine  affections  and 
purposes  by  the  analogy  of  human  affections  and  purposes.  He 
repented,  or  regretted,  that  he  had  made  man,  as  though  he 
were,  after  the  manner  of  man,  disappointed  in  the  work  of  his 
hands.     He  was  grieved,  as  though,  after  the  manner  of  man, 

1  Chap.  i. 


98  ,  SACRED  HISTORY. 

he  were  wounded  to  the  heart  by  the  sins  of  the  generation. 
The  change  was  in  them  only,  not  in  him ;  and  he  dealt  with 
them  according  to  the  counsels  of  his  own  wisdom  and  justice. 
His  repentance  proceeded  from  two  considerations.  First,  he 
regretted,  for  its  own  sake,  that  he  had  brought  the  human  race 
into  being,  even  as  Christ  said  of  Judas  :  "  It  had  been  good 
for  that  man  that  he  had  not  been  born."  Next,  he  was  grieved 
that  he  was  under  the  necessity  of  putting  everybody  to  death ; 
even  as  at  a  later  period  his  heart  was  turned  within  him,  and 
his  repentings  were  kindled  together  while  he  thought  upon 
delivering  Israel  to  the  destruction  of  Admah  and  Zeboim 
(Hos.  xi.  8).  He  resolved  to  destroy  the  race.  Man  had 
become  utterly  corrupt  in  heart  and  in  manner,  and  he  would 
sweep  him  from  the  face  of  the  earth ;  he  would  cut  off  every 
living  thing,  —  man,  beast,  creeping  thing,  and  fowl ;  he  would 
lay  waste  the  earth  itself,  even  cities,  fields,  and  forests.  He 
chose  also  the  instrument  of  destruction.  He  would  bring  a 
flood  of  waters  upon  the  earth,  so  that  every  thing  that  was  in 
the  earth  should  die.  Noah  and  his  family  should  be  saved 
alive.  Personally,  "  Noah  found  grace  in  the  ej^es  of  the  Lord  " 
(Gen.  vi.  8)  ;  the  word  "  grace  "  excluding  merit,  and  presup- 
posing faith.  Noah  was  "  heir  of  the  righteousness  that  is  by 
faith,"  and  was  one  of  the  three  heroes  of  faith  in  the  old  world, 
Abel  and  Enoch  being  the  other  two.  He  was  righteous,  a 
preacher  of  righteousness,  and  he  walked  with  God.  And  yet, 
in  sparing  Noah  and  his  household,  God  secured  purposes  far 
more  gracious  than  the  saving  alive  of  eight  persons.  The 
covenant-keeping  Jehovah  remembered  the  promise  that  the 
seed  of  the  woman  should  bruise  the  head  of  the  serpent.  The 
first  experiment  towards  the  fulfilment  of  the  promise  had 
apparently  failed  in  Abel,  who  died  without  children.  The 
second  experiment,  in  the  immense  posterity  of  Seth,  was  about 
to  terminate  in  the  judicial  drowning  of  the  earth.  But  God 
will  not  allow  his  promise  to  fail  evermore  in  the  universal 
catastrophe.  In  the  family  of  Noah  he  will  secure  the  preser- 
vation and  restoration  of  humanity ;  he  will  make  a  new 
departure  towards  the  consummation  of  his  redemptive  plans 


"SPIRITS  IJV  PRISON.''  99 

on  the  theatre  of  a  renovated  earth.  Noah,  saved  from  drown- 
ing, represented  the  seed  of  the  woman  that  should  get  the 
victory. 

To  the  wicked  God  afforded  space  for  repentance.  First, 
he  gave  to  them  the  respite  of  one  hundred  and  twenty  years. 
"The  long-suffering  of  God  waited  in  the  days  of  Noah 
while  the  ark  was  a  preparing"  (1  Pet.  iii.  20).  Moreover,  he 
directed  Noah  to  build  the  ark  in  the  presence  of  the  doomed 
peoples.  For  a  hundred  and  twenty  years  the  steady  progress 
of  the  work  was  a  perpetual  warning  to  mankind  of  the  ap- 
proach of  the  Flood.  Paul  declares  that  Noah,  by  the  very  act 
of  building  the  ark,  "condemned  the  world"  (Heb.  xi.  7). 
Noah  was  also  "  a  preacher  of  righteousness,"  and  doubtless  he 
dealt  faithfully  with  the  people.  Still  further,  Christ  himself, 
the  consummate  seed  of  the  promise,  endeavored  to  lead  the 
ungodly  to  repentance.  Peter  says,  "  Christ,  also,  hath  once 
suffered  for  sins,  the  just  for  the  unjust,  that  he  might  bring  us 
to  God ;  being  put  to  death  in  the  flesh,  but  quickened  by  the 
Spirit :  by  which  also  he  went  and  preached  to  the  spirits  in 
prison ;  which  sometime  were  disobedient,  when  once  the  long- 
suffering  of  God  waited  in  the  days  of  Noah,  while  the  ark  was 
a  preparing,  wherein  few,  that  is  eight  souls,  were  saved  by 
water  "  (1  Pet.  iii.  18-20).  The  true  sense  of  this  much-dis- 
puted passage  will  appear  in  a  simple  analysis.  Who  went  and 
preached  ?  Christ ;  even  He  who  afterwards  suffered  for  sins, 
the  just  for  the  unjust,  now  offered  salvation  through  his  blood 
to  the  antediluvians.  By  what  sufficient  agency?  By  his 
Spirit ;  that  is,  his  own  Divine  nature ;  not  by  a  personal  min- 
istry visible  to  man,  but  by  the  Godhead  that  was  in  him, 
whereby  he  was  more  than  two  thousand  years  afterwards 
"  quickened  "  or  raised  from  the  dead.  Through  what  human 
instrumentality  ?  That  of  Noah,  the  "  preacher  of  righteous- 
ness," so  called  by  Peter  himself  (2  Pet.  ii.  5).  To  whom  did 
Christ  preach  through  the  tongue  of  Noah  ?  To  the  contempo- 
raries of  Noah,  the  disobedient  who  perished  by  the  Flood  after 
God  had  suffered  long  with  them.  When  was  this  preaching 
done  ?    In  the  time  during  which  God  was  waiting  in  patience 


100  SACBED  HISTORY. 

on  the  disobedient ;  through  a  hundred  and  twenty  years  while 
the  ark  was  in  building.  What  and  where  were  these  people 
when  Peter  wrote  his  Epistle  ?  They  'were  lost  spirits,  shut  up 
in  hell.  The  peculiar  expression,  "  preached  to  the  spirits  in 
prison,"  is  repeated  in  equivalent  terms  by  Peter  in  the  next 
chapter  :  "  For  this  cause  was  the  gospel  preached  also  to  them 
that  are  dead  "  (1  Pet.  iv.  6) ;  that  is  to  say,  to  them  who  were 
dead  when  Peter  was  writing,  but  who  had  heard  the  gospel 
while  they  were  alive.  A  notable  instance  is  this,  of  grace 
abounding,  grace  despised,  and  vengeance  executed  on  the 
unbelieving.  Christ,  by  his  Spirit,  went  and  preached  to  the 
wicked  men.  God  said,  "  My  Spirit  shall  not  always  strive  " 
(Gen.  vi.  3). 

The  end  speedily  came.  On  a  certain  day  Noah  went  into 
the  ark,  and  all  his  family.  On  the  seventh  day  following,  the 
Flood  descended.  The  catastrophe  took  its  victims  by  surprise. 
In  a  few  words  Christ  describes  not  only  their  surprise,  but 
their  self-indulgent  habits  of  life :  "  They  were  eating  and 
drinking,  marrying  and  giving  in  marriage  "  (Matt.  xxiv.  38). 
Lamech  had  been  dead  ninety-eight  years.  Methuselah,  Enoch's 
son,  died  in  the  year  of  the  Flood.  Whether  he  was  drowned  or 
not,  whether  the  reptile  blood  of  Cain  ran  in  the  veins  of  any  of 
the  eight  souls  that  were  saved,  are  questions  for  the  curious. 
Neither  of  them  is  answered  in  the  record,  nor  are  they  of  the 
least  importance.  The  really  vital  facts  are,  that  the  ark,  as 
it  floated  upon  the  bosom  of  the  waters,  bore  within  its  narrow 
walls  the  seed  of  the  woman,  while  the  seed  of  the  serpent 
perished ;  and  the  salvation  of  the  righteous  once  more  went 
hand  in  hand  with  the  destruction  of  the  wicked. 

The  sacred  history  of  the  world  before  the  Flood,  covering  a 
period,  according  to  Usher,  of  sixteen  hundred  and  fifty-five 
years,  closes  with  the  day  when  Noah  and  his  family,  together 
with  "  male  and  female  of  all  flesh,  went  into  the  ark,  as  God 
had  commanded  him,  and  the  Lord  shut  him  in."  Before 
leaving  this  period,  however,  we  should  attend  to  some  impor- 
tant particulars  not  yet  considered. 

Several    questions    have    been    raised   with    regard    to    the 


GEBMS   OF  THE    VISIBLE  CUURCH.  101 

"Church  before  the  Flood,"  so  called.  Was  there  any  thing  in 
existence  worthy  of  the  name  ?  If  in  existence,  was  it  an 
organized  society,  fully  equipped  with  a  constitution,  confes- 
sion, catechisms,  with  office-bearers,  spiritual  courts,  and  a 
sufficient  discipline,  with  well-ordered  worship  and  solemn 
sacraments,  with  suitable  edifices  and  furniture  ?  or  did  this 
Church  exist  in  its  germs  only  ? 

We  shall  be  helped  to  answer  these  questions  by  bearing  in 
mind  that  the  record  before  us  is  entitled  "  Genesis,"  or  "  the 
beginning,"  and  that  its  contents  are  accurately  described  by 
that  title.  The  first  six  chapters  contain,  if  we  may  so  say,  the 
very  beginning  of  the  beginnings,  the  first  of  the  origines  sacrce. 
This  remark  is  the  more  important,  inasmuch  as  it  applies  not 
only  to  antediluvian  history,  but  to  the  five  books  of  Moses, 
and  to  the  Old  Testament  taken  as  a  whole.  The  law  of  gen- 
esis and  progress  in  the  revelation  gives  shape  to  the  structure 
of  the  Scriptures.  He  who  disregards  this  rule,  and  professes 
to  find  the  whole  gospel  clearly  revealed  in  the  Old  Testament, 
must  answer  the  question.  Why  was  the  New  Testament  added 
to  the  Old  ?  He  who  professes  to  find  no  gospel,  no  Church, 
no  sacraments,  in  the  Old  Testament,  must  answer  the  question. 
Why  was  the  Old  prefixed  to  the  New  ?  Augustine's  remark 
covers  the  ground :  "  The  New  Testament  is  latent  in  the  Old  ; 
the  Old  is  patent  in  the  New."  In  the  antediluvian  history,  Ave 
find  the  incipiencies  of  the  whole  stupendous  revelation.  Even 
so  the  garden,  in  the  spring  season,  is  full  of  the  roots  and 
germs  wherein  we  recognize  the  "  potency  and  promise  "  of  a 
ripe  and  abundant  fruitage.  The  visible  Church  is  the  king- 
dom of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  the  household  and  family  of  God 
(Eph.  i.  19,  iii.  15).  Its  final  form  is  contained  in  the  New 
Testament.  Inasmuch  as  it  is  a  Divine  institution,  we  must 
look  for  its  origin  among  the  beginnings  of  other  Divine  ordi- 
nances. We  must  expect  also  to  find  its  primordial  elements, 
and  nothing  more,  where  other  sacred  institutes  existed  only 
in  their  rudiments.  These  expectations  are  realized  in  the 
information  afforded  by  Moses  concerning  the  Church  before 
the  Flood. 


102  SACRED  niSTOEY. 

All  those  who  believed  in  God,  and  obeyed  him,  were  mem- 
bers of  this  Church  ;  especially  those  who  received  and  rested 
in  the  promise  of  salvation  contained  in  the  first  gospel.  Among 
them  we  may  include  our  first  parents.  If  the  interpretation 
frequently  put  upon  their  use  of  skins  for  clothing  is  correct,  it 
follows  that  Adam  and  Eve,  in  the  ritual  of  bloody  sacrifice, 
expressed  their  faith  in  the  promise,  and  their  acceptance  of  the 
method  of  salvation  set  forth  therein.  There  is,  however,  better 
reason  to  think  that  they  showed  the  same  faith  in  the  names 
which  they  gave  to  Cain,  Abel,  and  Seth.  It  is  certain  that 
some  of  their  descendants  were  the  children  of  God.  Abel, 
Enoch,  and  Noah  are  named  by  Paul  among  the  heroes  of  faith, 
and  all  of  them  had  this  testimony  that  they  pleased  God. 
Besides  these  holy  men,  there  were  many,  who,  in  the  days  of 
Enosh,  ""  called  upon  the  name  of  Jehovah,"  the  covenant  name 
of  the  Almighty.  These  all,  and  others  like  them,  were  mem- 
bers of  the  Church  before  the  Flood. 

The  constitution  of  this  Church  is  easily  made  out.  Christ 
was  its  Head.  For,  first,  he  was  in  the  highest  sense,  the  "  seed 
of  the  woman  "  (Mic.  v.  3  ;  Matt.  i.  23).  He  was  born  of  a 
virgin ;  he  is  the  Head  of  the  great  body  of  the  redeemed,  who 
are  themselves,  though  in  a  lower  sense,  the  seed  of  the  woman ; 
and  in  him  the  Church  will  gain  the  victory  over  the  seed  of 
the  serpent.  Next,  Christ  began  his  mediatorial  work  at  the 
apostasy ;  for  mercy  began  at  that  moment  to  be  exercised 
towards  man,  and  mercy  can  come  only  through  Christ.  He 
began  also,  at  that  time,  to  teach  men,  for  Christ  is  the  only 
Divine  teacher  (Matt.  xi.  27)  ;  and,  in  the  days  of  Noah, 
Christ,  by  the  lips  of  Noah,  preached  to  the  disobedient  (1  Pet. 
iii.  19).  Moreover,  God  deals  with  his  Church  only  through 
Christ.  He  is  the  Door,  the  Way,  the  Truth,  and  the  Life. 
Another  element  in  this  constitution  is  its  organic  law,  the 
covenant  of  grace,  made  in  Christ ;  in  and  through  him,  and  in 
and  through  him  only,  man  is  reconciled  to  God.  Moses  points 
out  the  sources  from  which  proceeded  the  earliest  revelations  of 
God's  will.  First,  mankind  derived  from  God's  works  of  crea- 
tion a  knowledge  of  the  existence  and  natural  attributes  of  the 


TUEOLOGY  BEFORE   THE  FLOOD.  103 

Creator.  Secondly,  further  knowledge  was  gained  by  observa- 
tion and  experience.  Our  first  parents  were  witnesses  of  what 
took  place  in  the  Garden  of  Eden,  and  at  the  altars  of  Cain  and 
Abel.  They  and  their  descendants  were  the  human  factors  in 
the  history  from  Seth  to  Noah,  and  this  history  is  full  of  the 
elements  of  revealed  truth.  Thirdly,  God's  word  spoken  sup- 
plied the  place  of  God's  word  written.  He  gave  to  our  first 
parents  the  command  in  regard  to  the  fruit  of  the  forbidden 
tree  ;  he  pronounced  upon  them  the  sentence  of  sorrow,  toil, 
and  death ;  and  he  communicated  to  them  the  first  gospel.  He 
remonstrated  with  Cain,  and  sent  him  into  exile.  He  warned 
Noah  of  the  coming  flood,  and  gave  him  directions  for  the 
saving  of  his  house.  Fourthly,  the  Holy  Spirit  revealed  future 
events  to  Enoch  and  Noah ;  and,  by  the  gift  of  inspiration,  they 
became  infallible  prophets,  and  preachers  of  righteousness.  And, 
fifthly,  God  made  his  word  visible  at  the  expulsion  from  Eden, 
at  the  translation  of  Enoch,  and  in  the  drowning  of  the  Old 
World. 

The  truths  revealed  in  their  rudiments  extend  to  the  doc- 
trines concerning  God,  man,  salvation,  and  the  end  of  the  world. 
(1)  In  theology  God  made  known  his  existence  and  his  suj^rem- 
acy  in  the  universe,  as  the  one  only  living  and  true  God.  He 
talked  with  men  face  to  face ;  he  blessed  the  righteous,  he  con- 
demned the  wicked.  So  distinct  were  the  disclosures  of  his 
awful  personality,  that  idolatry  was  a  sin  unknown  in  the  midst 
of  universal  corruption.  Next,  he  revealed  himself  as  the 
Creator  of  all  things  that  began  to  be ;  and  in  these  works  he 
declared  his  power,  wisdom,  and  goodness.  Moreover,  he  made 
himself  known  as  the  supreme  Ruler  of  the  world  in  the 
dominion  conferred  on  man,  in  the  test  proposed,  in  the  perfect 
obedience  exacted,  in  the  awful  sentence  pronounced  and  exe- 
cuted, in  the  expulsion  from  the  garden,  in  the  exile  of  Cain, 
and  in  the  Deluge.  (2)  In  regard  to  man  himself,  the  doctrine 
made  known  was  his  creation  in  the  person  of  one  man,  from 
whose  side  the  woman  was  taken ;  the  formation  of  his  body 
from  the  dust  of  the  ground,  and  his  soul  in  the  image  of  God ; 
his  original  righteousness,  his  probation  and  fall  and  punish- 


104  SACRED  HISTORY. 

ment,  the  fall  and  ruin  in  him  of  his  posterity.  The  universal 
and  total  depravity  of  mankind  was  displayed  in  the  crime  of 
Cain,  in  the  godlessness  of  his  descendants,  and  in  the  violence 
and  corruption  which  filled  the  earth.  So  intense  was  this 
depravity,  that  it  contaminated  the  imagination  of  the  thoughts. 
Men's  deeds  were  evil,  their  deeds  were  engendered  by  evilt 
thoughts,  and  their  thoughts  were  polluted  by  evil  affections. 
Through  Enoch,  the  last  things  were  revealed.  He  prophesied 
of  the  coming  of  the  Lord  to  judge  the  world,  and  to  take 
vengeance  on  sinners  for  their  ungodly  speeches  and  deeds. 
By  his  translation  were  proclaimed  the  salvation  of  the  body, 
and,  by  unavoidable  conclusion  therefrom,  the  resurrection  of 
the  dead,  the  eternal  state,  and  the  future  blessedness  of  the 
righteous. 

(3)  The  ordinances  of  worship  were  few  and  elementary. 
The  sacred  rites  were,  the  calling  on  the  name  of  the  Lord  in 
prayer,  and  the  preaching  of  righteousness.  Li  regard  to  the 
ministers  of  religion,  we  are  led  to  infer,  from  the  story  of  Cain 
and  Abel,  that,  at  the  beginning,  each  worshipper  presented 
oblations  for  himself;  and,  from  the  history  of  Noah,  we  gather 
that  in  his  time  the  patriarch  of  the  family  exercised  the  office 
of  the  priest.  Touching  the  ritual  of  worship,  the  history  of 
Cain  and  Abel  is  instructive.  As  to  sacred  time,  it  is  plain 
that  the  sabbath  was  set  apart  and  sanctified,  at  the  creation, 
as  a  da}'-  of  holy  rest.  The  notices  in  the  history  of  the  Flood, 
respecting  the  seventh  day,  show  that  the  sabbath  was  kept 
holy  by  the  few  righteous  people  in  the  days  of  Noah  (Gen. 
viii.  10-12).  The  expression,  "in  process  of  time,"  in  Gen.  iv. 
3,  is  thought  by  many  to  refer  to  the  sabbath. 

Considered  as  a  visible  society,  the  Church  was  not  yet 
organized.  But  certain  of  the  elements  of  visibility  were 
present.  The  enmity  established  in  paradise  between  the  two 
seeds  displayed  itself  very  early  in  the  murder  of  Abel,  and  in 
the  separation  of  the  Cainites  and  Sethites ;  and  both  hostility 
and  separation  are  conditions  of  visibility.  Again,  the  imme- 
diate descendants  of  Seth  instituted  openly  the  worship  of  God. 
The  Sethites  were  known  as  the  sons  of  God,  while  the  Cainites 


THE  ESSENTIAL    TRUTHS.  105 

were  called,  in  the  persons  of  their  daughters,  the  children  of 
men.  Moreover,  in  the  same  line  Enoch  and  Noah  appeared, 
righteous  and  faithful  men.  In  the  absence  of  any  ecclesiastical 
organization,  the  visibility  of  the  Church  in  the  persons  of 
individual  believers,  and  of  inspired  prophets  and  teachers, 
known  to  be  such,  may  be  affirmed. 

From  this  survey,  it  appears  that  none  of  the  elements  of  the 
future  Church  were  as  fully  made  known  as  were  the  essential 
truths  of  revealed  religion.  The  believers  were  scattered 
abroad;  they  were  not  organized  into  a  distinct  society,  with 
the  office-bearers,  and  spiritual  courts,  and  established  discipline, 
which  belong  to  the  kingdom  of  God.  There  was  in  existence 
no  written  rule  of  faith,  no  sacraments,  no  minute  ritual  of 
sacrifice,  or  holy  priesthood,  or  sacred  calendar.  But  the  four 
heads  of  doctrine  concerning  God,  man,  redemption,  and  the 
end  of  the  world,  were  set  forth  with  a  certain  fulness  which 
marks  their  supreme  importance,  and  shows  that  the  truth,  even 
in  the  absence  of  outward  ordinances,  conveys  salvation. 

Next,  we  gather  from  what  has  been  said,  that  the  further 
development  of  these  saving  truths,  the  disclosure  of  other 
truths,  and  the  unfolding  of  a  complete  ecclesiastical  polity  in 
government,  discipline,  and  worship,  were  all  regulated  by  two 
laws  workhig  together.  The  one  is  the  law  of  progress  in  the 
teachings  of  Scripture ;  the  other  is  the  law  whereby  these 
teachings  went  abreast  in  the  order  in  which  they  were  given 
and  received.  We  may  take  as  example,  the  doctrine  of  the 
Trinity,  and  its  environments.  It  is  not  pressing  the  case  too 
far  to  say,  that,  the  plural  unity  of  the  Godhead  being  assumed, 
the  use  of  the  plural  name  Elohim,  as  the  second  word  in  the 
Book  of  Genesis,  is  altogether  appropriate.  And  the  mode  of 
the  Divine  existence  in  three  persons,  if  not  fully  revealed,  is 
assumed  in  the  first  three  verses.  Mention  is  made  of  God, 
who  created  the  universe ;  of  the  "  Spirit,  moving  upon  the 
face  of  the  deep ; "  and  of  the  Word,  "  God  spake."  Moses, 
having  planted  these  vital  germs  in  the  record,  passes  to  other 
topics.  On  the  next  page  he  takes  from  the  lips  of  Jehovah 
the  words  of  the  first  gospel.     In  the  blood  of  Abel  we  find  the 


106  SACRED  HISTORY. 

type  of  an  atonement,  by  the  shedding  of  blood.  But  whose 
blood  that  shall  be,  whether  the  blood  of  one,  or  of  many,  of  a 
man,  or  of  a  God-man,  whether  it  should  be  shed  within  a  year, 
or  not  until  the  end  of  four  thousand  years,  are  secrets  slowly 
divulged  only  as  the  ages  passed.  But  with  every  explanation 
of  the  first  gospel,  made  from  age  to  age,  there  was  associated 
some  new  disclosure  of  the  doctrine  of  the  Trinity ;  one  truth 
keeping  equal  step  with  another  in  the  progress  of  its  commu- 
nication from  God,  and  in  its  apprehension  by  men.  One  effect 
of  this  double  growth  is  the  discovery  to  mankind  of  the 
distribution  of  the  work  of  salvation  among  the  Persons  of 
the  sacred  Three.  Another  effect  is  to  connect  the  plan  of  sav- 
ing sinners  with  the  attributes  of  God  himself.  And  still 
another  is  to  show  how  the  wonders  of  salvation  and  the  glory 
of  God,  stored  up  in  the  Genesis,  are  progressively  unfolded  in 
the  "breaking-out  of  the  Gospel,"  and  of  the  shinings  of  the 
Divine  glory,  until  all  stands  fully  manifested  in  the  Book  of 
Revelation.  Meanwhile  the  Church,  which  is  scarcely  visible 
in  Genesis,  is  brought  forward  in  the  last  book  as  the  bride,  — 
the  Lamb's  wife. 

It  is  to  be  said,  moreover,  that  the  truths  revealed  to  the  Old 
World  were  sufficient  for  the  salvation  of  its  inhabitants.  And 
yet  it  must  also  be  said,  that  when,  in  the  plan  of  Providence, 
new  revelations  were  added  to  the  old,  men  could  not  be  saved 
unless  they  accepted  the  whole  body  of  truth  made  known  to 
them.  The  Hebrews  in  the  days  of  Joshua  might  not  rest  on 
the  things  declared  in  the  days  of  Enoch,  and  reject  all  subse- 
quent revelations ;  nor  might  the  Jews  under  Ezra  profess  to 
receive  what  was  made  known  at  the  conquest,  in  disregard  of 
what  God  had  spoken  in  the  interval  of  one  thousand  years 
from  Joshua  to  Ezra.  At  the  baptism  of  John,  the  Jew  might 
be  saved  by  the  Old  Testament ;  but,  when  the  New  was  given, 
he  was  required  to  receive  not  only  the  testimony  of  Moses  and 
the  prophets,  but  the  testimony  also  of  Christ  and  his  apostles. 
For  this  reason,  it  may  be  confidently  said  that  there  is  not  a 
righteous  Jew  on  earth  :  he  rejects  the  message  which  God  has 
sent  to  him  by  his  Son. 


NOT  A    WOED,   ELSE,  OF  ORIGINAL  HISTORY.  107 

In  estimating  the  value  of  the  antediluvian  sacred  liistory,  it 
may  be  remarked,  in  the  first  place,  that  it  is  the  only  memorial 
in  existence  of  the  world  before  the  Flood.  Of  the  myriads  who 
lived  during  the  first  sixteen  centuries  and  a  half  of  recorded 
time,  —  a  period  nearly  equal  to  that  of  the  Christian  era,  — 
no  other  vestiges  remain.  The  people  lived  and  died,  they  built 
cities,  they  invented  poetry  and  music,  they  wrought  in  brass 
and  iron,  and  the  construction  of  the  ark  shows  progress  in 
architectural  science  and  handicraft.  And  yet  no  traces  of 
their  skilled  labor  or  art,  no  inscriptions  or  hieroglyphics,  no 
papyrus  or  brazen  tablet,  no  pyramid  or  broken  column,  no  vast 
ruins  like  those  of  Central  America,  no  mounds  like  tliose  of 
Nineveh,  no  deserted  tombs  like  those  of  Petra,  no  mummies, 
—  in  short,  no  historical  monuments  whatever,  —  of  that  long 
period,  now  exist.  Except  for  the  record  in  Genesis,  we  should 
know  less  of  them  than  of  the  savage  tribes  that  roamed 
through  our  western  forests  during  the  Trojan  war.  The  world 
is  indebted  to  the  inspired  historian  exclusively  for  all  that  is 
known  of  the  primeval  ages. 

This  history  is  indispensable  also  as  an  introduction  to  what 
follows  in  the  Scriptures.  In  ignorance  of  its  contents,  no 
explanation  could  be  given  of  the  place  which  the  Deluge  occu- 
pied in  the  early  history  of  mankind  and  in  the  plan  of  Provi- 
dence ;  or  of  the  position  of  Noah  and  his  family  ;  or  of  tlie 
origin  of  the  conflict  between  the  good  and  the  evil  which 
appeared  in  the  family  of  Noah,  and  which  proceeded  thence 
onward ;  or  of  the  beginning  of  the  series  of  covenants  which 
gave  shape  to  the  later  Scriptures.  These  few  chapters  put 
into  our  hands  the  clew  to  all  that  follows.  iNIoreover,  nothing- 
can  exceed  the  simple  and  artless  structure  of  the  narrative. 
It  deals  with  the  most  stupendous  and  far-reaching  events  ;  but, 
if  it  were  an  inspired  child's  history,  it  could  hardly  be  more 
artless  and  story-telling  in  diction  and  style.  Never  did  a 
mountain  spring  deliver  the  rain  from  the  sweet  heavens  to  the 
plains  more  purely  than  Moses  delivers  his  narrative,  cleared 
from  myths  and  fables,  the  legends  of  gods  and  demigods  and 
heroes,  gods  many  and  lords  many,  the  things  incredible  and 


108  SACRED  HISTORY. 

impossible,  which  adulterate  the  cosmogonies  of  the  heathen. 
Indeed,  not  a  single  miracle  is  ascribed  to  any  one  of  the  patri- 
archs of  the  period  ;  every  thing  that  was  supernatural  is 
ascribed  to  the  Almighty ;  and,  what  is  not  less  remarkable, 
the  attributes  of  God  are  rarely  named  or  described  in  these 
chapters.  He  is  not  distinctly  called  hoi}',  or  wise,  or  good. 
He  manifested  himself  to  men  as  wise  and  good,  as  angry  or 
forgiving,  by  his  acts  and  works,  leaving  to  his  creatures  to  infer 
what  he  was  from  what  he  did.  But  at  the  same  time  these 
unadorned  and  simple  annals  give  answers  to  all  such  honest 
inquiries  concerning  God  and  man  as  these  :  the  beginning  of 
the  universe  ;  the  fitting-up  of  the  world  for  our  race  ;  the  crea- 
tion of  the  first  man  ;  the  formation  of  the  first  Avoman  in  such 
manner  as  to  establish  the  absolute  unity  in  origin  of  the  two 
and  of  all  their  posterity ;  the  original  righteousness  of  the  pair  ; 
the  temptation,  apostasy,  and  ruin  of  the  first  man,  and  in  him 
of  his  posterity  ;  and,  finally,  the  Divine  plan  of  redemption 
and  its  workings  from  Adam  to  Noah. 

The  historical  significance  of  the  genealogies  must  not  be 
overlooked.  Only  five  or  six  chapters,  which  can  be  read  delib- 
erately in  thirty  minutes,  are  afforded  to  this  long  and  critical 
period.  One-sixth  part  of  that  small  space  is  taken  up  by 
genealogical  tables.  But  they  are  well  worthy  of  the  promi- 
nence given  to  them.  They  establish  the  fact  that  all  mankind 
descended  from  one  man  and  one  Avoman.  This  truth  is  funda- 
mental to  revealed  religion,  because  it  points  out  the  indisso- 
luble connection  between  the  lost  estate  of  all  mankind  and  the 
disobedience  of  their  common  progenitor ;  and  it  lays  the  foun- 
dation for  a  plan  of  redemption  that  shall  be  one  plan,  and  yet 
applicable  to  every  member  of  the  race.  Accordingl}',  the  line 
of  Seth,  which  was  the  line  of  promise,  and,  by  intermarriage, 
even  the  line  of  Cain's  outcast  race,  are  brought  down  in  the 
tables  to  the  three  sons  of  Noah,  showing  that  both  lines  began 
in  Adam  the  first  father,  and  were  represented  in  Noah  the 
second  father  of  all.  From  this  it  follows  that  all  the  people  in 
the  ark.  even  if  the  blood  of  Cain  ran  in  their  veins,  were  of 
one  and  only  one  original  stock.     Tl^se  tables  prepare  the  way 


VALUE  OF  THIS  EAELY  HISTORY.  109 

also  for  the  assurance  that  Christ  is  the  Saviour  of  the  whole 
race.  Luke  uses  this  table  as  a  part  of  the  proof  that  Jesus 
was  the  Son  of  Adam,  "  who  was  the  son  of  God."  It  was  not 
possible  for  the  unbelieving  Jew,  with  his  register  before  him, 
to  dispute  the  common  humanity  on  which,  as  a  part  of  his  case, 
Paul  said,  that,  as  in  Adam  all  die,  so  in  Christ  shall  all  be 
made  alive.  Finally,  all  the  covenants,  beginning  with  the 
covenant  of  works,  presuppose  the  unity  of  the  race,  unto  which 
unity  these  tables  certify.  While,  therefore,  we  should  not 
overlook  the  striking  moral  lesson  conveyed  in  these  chapters, 
we  should  bear  in  mind  that  their  primary  object  was  to  trace 
out  the  early  history  of  redemption. 

The  registers  call  our  attention  also  to  the  longevity  of  the 
patriarchs.  The  proof  by  Avhich  the  longevity  is  established, 
the  vital  forces  to  which  it  is  to  be  referred,  and  its  results, 
historical  and  moral,  should  be  considered.  The  facts  are  suffi- 
ciently established  by  the  word  of  God.  This  testimony  is  to 
be  taken  in  its  obvious  sense.  The  theories  of  certain  critics, 
that  the  figures  are  to  be  applied  not  to  the  persons,  but  to 
races  of  the  patriarchs,  or  to  groups  of  generations,  are  incapa- 
ble of  verification  ;  so  also  are  their  attempts  to  bring  those 
ages  within  our  present  limits  of  life  by  assuming  that  the 
years  consisted  of  only  one,  or  of  three,  or  of  six  months.^ 
These  explanations  are  less  worthy  of  attention,  for  the  reason 
that  the  traditions  of  the  oldest  nations  do  not  invalidate  the 
sacred  record,  either  by  way  of  contradiction  or  silence.  Jose- 
phus  relates  that  the  Egyptian,  Phoenician,  Babylonian,  and 
Greek  historians  united  in  declaring  that  there  had  been  in- 
stances of  persons  who  lived  nearly  a  thousand  years.  Among 
the  historians  of  the  old  empires,  who  give  accounts  similar  to 
those  in  Moses,  Josephus  names  Manetho,  Hestiaeus,  Hieronymus 
of  Egypt,  Hesiod,  etc.^  Mr.  George  Rawlinson  believes  that  a 
very  wide-spread  tradition  existed  in  the  ancient  world  to  the 
same  effect.^  That  these  many  traditions,  coming  down  from  so 
many  widely  separated  peoples  and  remote  ages,  echo  an  histor- 
ical fact,  is  far  more  probable  than  that  they  all  rest  on  a  mere 
1  Kurtz:  Old  Cov.,  i.  93.     2  Josephus:  Autiq.,  i.  3-9.     8  Aids  to  Faith,  p.  320. 


110  SACRED  HISTORY. 

fable.  Isaiah  confirms  the  written  record  of  ]\Ioses,  and  the 
unwritten  traditions  of  the  heathen,  by  the  hope  that  the  old 
longevity  may  be  restored  in  the  administration  of  the  Messiah 
(Isa.  Ixv.  20). 

In  regard  to  the  vital  forces  by  which  this  length  of  days 
was  secured,  it  will  be  sufficient  to  mention  some  of  those  that 
have  been  suggested.  The  phenomena  are  referred,  for  ex- 
ample, to  the  freshness  and  purity  of  the  antediluvian  atmos- 
phere ;  to  the  strength  of  the  human  constitution  derived  so 
recently  from  Adam ;  to  simple  modes  of  life,  as  abstinence 
from  animal  food  and  strong  drink ;  to  favorable  climates, 
the  equality  of  seasons  and  such  like.  Some  of  these  sugges- 
tions prove  too  much,  others  too  little,  and  taken  together 
nothing  at  all.  The  length  of  days  in  former  generations,  as 
well  as  in  individuals  in  all  generations,  must  be  ascribed  to 
the  will  of  God,  who  has  appointed  the  bounds  of  our  habita- 
tions. Among  the  results  of  this  longevity,  is  the  light  cast  by 
it  upon  the  immortality  wherein  the  human  body  was  created. 
The  same  Divine  power  which  supported  the  life  of  fallen 
Adam  through  nine  hundred  and  thirty  years,  was  sufficient 
to  keep  the  unfallen  Adam  so  that  he  should  never  see  death. 
Secondly,  the  long  lives  of  the  patriarchs  enabled  them  to 
perfect  the  useful  arts.  Wisdom  and  experience  did  not  die 
early  with  the  persons  by  whom  these  were  acquired.  Thirdly, 
the  historical  uses  of  this  longevity  are  conspicuous.  In  the 
absence  of  the  art  of  writing,  it  secured  the  transmission, 
through  the  memory  of  the  long-lived  people,  of  useful  inven- 
tions and  discoveries,  together  with  such  knowledge  as  might 
be  gathered  by  observation  and  study.  It  afforded  the  means, 
also,  for  the  preservation  of  primeval  history;  strengthening 
our  confidence  in  the  authenticity  of  the  sacred  record,  when 
considered  apart  from  its  inspired  authority.  Methuselah  was 
contemporary  with  Adam  two  hundred  and  fifty  years,  and  with 
Shem  one  hundred  ;  Shem  was  contemporary  with  Abraham  one 
hundred  years,  and  with  Isaac  fifty.  On  the  supposition  that 
the  patriarchs  who  were  living  at  the  same  time  were  acquaint- 
ed with  each  other,  it  may  be  assumed  that  the  story  of  Eden 


RESULTS  OF  LONGEVITY.  Ill 

was  related  by  Adam  to  Methuselah,  and  was  repeated  by 
]\Iethuselah  to  Shem,  and  by  Shem  to  Abraham  and  Isaac. 
Further,  of  the  eleven  generations  before  the  Flood,  nme  were 
always  contemporaries.  Of  the  eleven  postdiluvian  generations 
from  Noah  to  Abraham,  never  fewer  than  eight  were  living 
together  on  earth.  Noah's  life  covered  six  centuries  of  the 
world  before  the  Flood,  and  three  centuries  and  a  half  of  the 
world  after  the  Flood.^  Adam  survived  Enoch's  translation, 
and  may  have  come  to  the  certain  knowledge  of  the  salvation 
of  the  saints  in  soul  and  body.  Noah  lived  with  six  generations 
who  had  themselves  lived  with  Adam,  and  who  may  have  heard 
from  his  lips  the  story  of  Eden.  Abraham  and  Isaac  were 
contemporaries  with  Noah's  sons ;  and  Noah's  sons,  through  one 
hundred  years  of  early  life,  had  witnessed  the  building  of  the 
ark.  In  short,  living  men  could  have  transmitted  to  the  days 
of  Abraham  and  Moses  trustworthy  traditions  of  the  temp- 
tation and  fall  in  Eden,  of  the  Cainites  and  Sethites,  the 
corruption  of  both,  the  Deluge,  the  apostasy  at  Babel,  and  the 
dispersion  of  mankind.  By  the  aid  of  these  traditions,  the  Holy 
Spirit,  eliminating  from  them  whatever  was  fabulous,  clearing 
up  what  was  obscure,  and  supplying  what  was  lacking,  enabled 
Moses  to  compose  an  unerring  history  of  the  first  two  thousand 
years.  It  should  be  said,  furthermore,  that  the  longevity  of  the 
antediluvians  may  have  largely  contributed  to  the  wickedness 
which  overspread  the  earth  towards  the  close  of  the  period. 
No  sinners  are  more  hurtful  to  public  morals  than  old  sinners ; 
none  are  more  daring  and  reckless  than  those  who  look  forward, 
with  confidence  to  a  long  life.  The  delay  of  punishment  ever- 
more emboldens  the  transgressors  (Eccles.  viii.  11). 

1  Coleman's  Historical  Atlas,  p.  263. 


X12  SACRED  HISTORT. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

THE  DELUGE. 

Gen.  vi.,  vii.,  viii.  —  The  destruction  by  a  flood  of  the  entire 
human  race,  Noah  and  his  family  excepted,  is  established,  not 
only  by  the  direct  testimony  of  Moses,  but  by  its  congruity 
with  the  general  plan  of  the  history.  The  catastrophe  is  in 
harmony  with  all  that  went  before.  The  corru]3tion  of  all 
flesh,  the  violence  which  filled  the  earth,  the  repentance  of  the 
Almighty  that  he  had  made  man,  the  promise  of  the  first 
gospel  that  the  head  of  the  serpent  should  be  crushed,  —  all 
lead  up,  naturally,  to  the  destruction  of  the  existing  race,  and 
the  appearance  of  another.  And  the  Deluge  explains  what 
follows  in  the  record.  The  position  of  Noah  and  his  family, 
the  expansion  of  his  descendants  into  families,  tribes,  and 
nations,  their  dispersion  from  a  common  centre  to  all  parts  of 
the  known  world,  and  the  steady  progress  of  the  plan  of  redemp- 
tion, all  point  back  to  the  destruction  and  renovation  of  the 
earth.  Moses  is  confirmed,  moreover,  by  Isaiah,  by  Christ,  and 
by  two  of  his  apostles.  Isaiah  records  the  oath  of  the  Almighty, 
that  the  waters  of  Noah  should  no  more  go  over  the  earth  (Isa. 
liv.  9).  Christ  makes  himself  responsible  for  the  historical 
character  of  the  narrative,  and  uses  the  catastrophe  to  describe 
the  suddenness  with  which  the  Son  of  man  shall  come  (Matt, 
xxiv.  38;  Luke  xvii.  27).  The  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews,  and 
Peter's  two  letters,  relate  several  incidents  in  the  Deluge,  and 
explain  by  them  the  nature  of  saving  faith,  the  long-suffering 
of  God,  and  his  treatment  of  the  godly  and  of  the  ungodly 
(Heb.  xi.  7 ;  1  Pet.  iii.  20 ;  2  Pet.  ii.  5).  No  fact  in  ancient 
history  is  more  fully  supported  by  the   united   testimony  of 


GEOLOGY  AND   THE  DELUGE.  113 

Moses  and  the  prophets,  and  of  Jesus  Christ  and  his  apostles. 
Moreover,  it  was  once  confidently  believed,  by  intelligent  inquir- 
ers, that  the  inundation  had  left  indelible  traces  on  the  surface 
of  the  earth.  As  late  as  the  beginning  of  this  century,  it  was 
thought  that  the  numerous  shells  and  jjlants,  found  as  fossils  in 
the  rocks,  were  deposited  by  the  Noachian  Deluge.  After  that 
opinion  was  abandoned,  not  a  few  of  our  most  accomplished 
geologists  held,  with  Cuvier,  that  satisfactory  evidence  of 
the  great  Flood  was  supplied  by  superficial  deposits ;  such  as  the 
remains  of  animals  in  the  mammaliferous  crag,  of  which  the 
Siberian  mammoth  is  a  conspicuous  examjDle.  They  relied  also 
on  the  drift,  or  diluvium,  composed  of  water-washed  pebbles 
and  bowlders,  on  the  moraines,  and  the  contents  of  bone  caves. 
Further  inquiries  have  led  our  Christian  philosophers  to  the 
unanimous  conclusion  that  the  entire  contents  of  the  fossil- 
bearing  rocks,  and  for  the  most  part  of  the  drift,  are  to  be 
referred  to  the  period,  in  remote  antiquity,  of  the  regular 
geological  formations.  Their  further  conclusion  is,  that  the 
question  in  regard  to  the  actual  occurrence  of  the  Deluge  is 
left  untouched  by  every  thing  that  has  been  discovered  on  the 
surface  or  in  the  crust  of  the  earth.  Geology  being  dismissed 
from  the  inquiry,  sufficient  proof  of  the  catastrophe  is  found  in 
the  sure  word  of  God,  and  in  the  witness-bearing  of  history. 
But  Cuvier,  Buckland,  and  Silliman,  representatives  of  tlie 
science  and  Christian  sentiment  of  France,  England,  and 
America,  who  first  urged,  and,  when  better  informed,  abandoned, 
the  geological  argument,  did  honor  to  their  sense  of  the  obli- 
gations due  to  the  truth.  They  certainly  escaped  the  ridicule 
which  rests  on  the  name  of  Voltaire,  called  by  a  witty  French- 
man, the  "  wicked  overmuch."  In  a  dissertion  for  the  Academy 
at  Boulogne,  and  in  his  "  Philosophical  Dictionary,"  Voltaire 
accounted  for  the  appearance  of  shells  on  the  top  of  the  moun- 
tains, by  several  conjectures ;  one  of  which  was  that  the  shells 
had  been  dropped  from  the  hats  of  pilgrims  on  their  way  from 
the  Holy  Land  to  their  homes.^  But  even  if  geology,  in  its 
present  state  of  advancement,  is  silent  in  regard  to  the  catas- 
1  Miller's  Test,  of  Rocks,  320  seq. 


114  S  ACE  ED  HISTORY. 

trophe,  the  memory  of  mankind  supplies  its  place  with  abundant 
testimony. 

Few  historical  traditions  are  so  definite  and  well  established 
as  those  wliich  bring  to  us  accounts  of  the  Noachian  Deluge 
from  the  great  races  of  antiquity.  The  annals  of  ancient 
Chaldsea  derive  peculiar  claims  on  our  attention  from  the  indis- 
putable authenticity  of  the  documents  containing  them,  and 
from  the  particulars  in  which  they  agree  with,  and  in  which 
they  differ  from,  the  Hebrew  Scriptures.  Of  the  Chaldsean  nar- 
rative, a  version  was  preserved  by  Berosus,  a  priest  of  Babylon, 
who  lived  about  two  centuries  and  a  half  before  Christ,  and 
was  published  to  the  world  by  Eusebius  and  by  other  Greek 
historians.  Berosus  confirms  Moses  to  a  very  remarkable  extent, 
and  his  narrative  is  quoted  at  large  by  Geikie  and  Lenormant.^ 
In  addition  to  this  recital,  which  after  all  comes  to  us  at  second 
hand,  we  now  have  an  original  Chaldaic  version,  taken  directly 
from  cuneiform  tablets  exhumed  at  Nineveh,  transported  to  the 
British  Museum,  and  deciphered  by  the  late  lamented  George 
Smith.  The  history  of  the  Deluge  was  written  upon  these 
tablets  by  order  of  the  king  of  Assyria,  Assur-barni-abal.  The 
importance  attached  by  the  king  to  these  records  led  him  to 
secure  the  preparation  of  three  separate  copies  thereof.  The 
great  antiquity  of  the  documents  is  fully  established.  First  of 
all,  these  three  copies  were  made  in  the  seventh  century  before 
Christ,  from  a  manuscript  in  the  sacerdotal  library  of  the  city 
of  Urukh.  Next,  it  has  been  proved  that  the  ancient  transcript 
at  Urukh,  which  the  king's  scribes  copied,  could  not  have  been 
of  later  date  than  seventeen  centuries  before  Christ,  and  was 
probably  older ;  older,  that  is  to  say,  than  the  time  of  Moses, 
and  reaching  back  perhaps  as  far  as  the  day  of  Abraham.  Nor 
is  this  all ;  even  this  venerable  manuscript  had  itself  been  taken 
from  one  older  still,  older  than  Abraham,  and  contemporary,  it 
may  be  believed,  with  the  survivors  of  the  Deluge.^  The  frag- 
ments of  the  three  copies  in  the  British  Museum  have  been 
compared,   and    a    consecutive   narrative    written    out.     The 

1  Geikie's  Hours,  i.  190.    Lenormant's  Beginnings,  p.  390. 

3  Lenormant's  Beginnings,  392  seq.    Geikie's  Hours,  etc.,  p.  392. 


THE  ASSYRIAN   TABLETS.  115 

narrative  may  be  found  at  large  in  Lenormant  and  in  Dr. 
Geikie. 

In  comparing  this  Assyrian  legend  with  the  sacred  record,  it 
will  be  seen  that  the  many  and  important  particulars  in  which 
they  agree  point  directly  to  the  self-same  unique  catastrophe. 
Both  Moses  and  the  Assyrian  scribe  call  attention  to  the  wicked- 
ness of  mankind,  to  the  anger  of  the  Deity,  to  his  resolve  to 
punish  the  transgressors,  to  his  choice  of  the  Deluge  as  the 
instrument  of  punishment,  to  the  warning  given  to  a  single 
man,  and  to  the  Divine  purpose  to  spare  that  man  and  his 
family.  The  sacred  and  the  heathen  historian  set  before  us  the 
man  who  built  the  vessel ;  who  closed  its  seams,  within  and 
without,  by  the  use  of  bitumen ;  who  took  with  himself  into 
the  shijj  his  own  family,  the  beasts  wild  and  tame,  together 
with  food  sufficient  for  all.  Both  describe  the  violent  storm  of 
rain,  the  swelling  inundation,  the  drowning  of  all  the  living, 
the  receding  of  the  waters,  the  lodging  of  the  vessel  on  a 
mountain,  the  opening  of  the  roof  or  the  window,  the  three 
birds  sent  forth,  only  two  returning,  the  drying  of  the  earth, 
the  withdrawal  from  the  ship,  the  offering  of  a  sacrifice  by  fire, 
the  promise  that  the  earth  should  never  be  destroyed  any  more 
by  a  flood,  and  the  appearance  of  the  luminous  bow  or  "  zone  " 
on  the  clouds. 

The  points  wherein  the  two  accounts  differ  are  not  less  char- 
acteristic. The  Assyrian  tablets  bear  the  marks  of  the  national 
polytheism.  Four  gods,  sitting  in  council,  resolve  on- a  deluge  ; 
six  storm-gods  execute  the  decree;  while  the  rest  of  the  hagi- 
archy  of  gods,  frightened  by  the  "waterspout,"  lie  down  close 
to  one  another  like  dogs,  or  fly  for  protection  to  Ann  in  the 
higher  stars.  Oriental  exaggeration  also  plays  its  part  in  the 
story.  Hasisatra's  ark  was  nearly  twice  as  large  as  Noah's. 
Seven  thousand  two  hundred  measures  of  bitumen  were  used 
to  close  the  leaks.  Such  was  the  downpour  of  the  rain,  that 
the  waters  swelled  up  to  heaven  in  six  days  and  nights ;  and 
the  flood  fell  as  rapidly  as  it  rose.  Nor  are  the  signs  of  Oriental 
luxury  absent.  The  voyage  of  Hasisatra  was  simply  a  junketing 
at  sea  for  a  month.     A  great  company  of  guests  was  on  board. 


116  SACEED  niSTORY. 

The  host  was  a  king,  revelling  in  food  and  wine;  not  a  simple 
patriarch,  and  preacher  of  righteousness,  patient  in  the  labors 
of  a  hundred  and  twenty  years.  Forty-eight  hundred  laborers 
had  filled  two-thirds  of  the  ship  with  thirty-six  hundred  chests 
of  provisions  for  the  royal  table,  and  thirty-six  hundred  for 
the  sailors,  and  with  wine  like  the  waters  of  the  Euphrates 
for  abundance,  and  provisions  like  the  dust  of  the  earth.  At 
the  close  of  the  entertainment,  the  king  went  ashore,  and  offered 
a  sacrifice  of  burning  reeds,  cedar-wood,  and  juniper.  "  The 
gods  smelled  a  good  odor,  and  gathered  like  fli-es  over  the  sacri- 
fice." The  story  closes  with  the  apotheosis  of  the  hero  and  his 
wife,  leaving  his  guests  to  repeople  the  earth.  But  withal,  the 
tablets  make  no  mention  of  the  marks  of  the  true  religion  in 
the  transaction ;  nor  the  distinction  between  the  clean  and  the 
unclean  ;  nor  of  God's  covenant  with  the  master  of  the  vessel ; 
nor  of  an  offering  for  sin  in  the  blood  of  the  burnt  offering ; 
nor  of  the  position  assigned  to  the  survivor  as  the  second  father 
of  the  race.  We  have,  therefore,  in  these  tablets  an  independ- 
ent testimony  to  the  truthfulness  of  Moses;  testimony  of  a 
remote  antiquity,  and  of  unimpeachable  genuineness.  It  is 
sufficiently  like  Genesis,  having,  says  Kalisch,  "  not  only  a 
family  likeness,  but  the  appearance  of  a  twin,"  to  guarantee  its 
accuracy;  and  sufficiently  unlike,  in  form  and  tone,  to  establish 
its  pure  Chaldgean  origin. 

A  second  group  of  traditions  comes  to  us  from  the  Aryan 
races.  Four  narratives  of  the  Flood  have  been  pointed  out  in 
the  Indian  or  Hindoo  literature.  The  Greeks  preserved  two 
similar  legends,  in  one  of  which  Ogyges  figured  as  the  navi- 
gator, and  in  the  other  Deucalion.  According  to  the  last 
named,  Zeus  doomed  the  race  of  man  to  destruction  in  punish- 
ment of  their  impiety.  Deucalion,  being  warned  by  his  father 
Prometheus,  built  a  large  vessel,  in  which  he  placed  pairs  of 
animals  of  every  kind,  and  to  which  he  took  refuge  with  his 
wife  Pyrrha  and  his  sons  and  their  wives.  The  Deluge  contin- 
ued six  days  and  nights,  at  the  end  of  which  the  vessel  rested 
on  Parnassus.  A  dove  was  sent  forth,  and  came  back  with 
mud  in  its  claws,  showing  that  the  waters  were  retiring.     In 


TRADITIONS   OF  THE  DELUGE.  117 

due  time,  Deucalion  and  Pyrrlia  left  the  ship,  offered  a  sacrifice, 
and  repeopled  the  earth  by  throwing  the  "  bones  of  the  earth," 
the  stones,  behind  their  backs  ;  or,  as  another  story  goes,  they 
threw  over  their  heads  the  fruit  of  a  palm-tree,  from  which 
sprang  a  new  race.  Among  the  Persians,  Scandinavians,  and 
Celts,  the  traditions  were  national,  and  were  also  too  distinc- 
tive to  be  mistaken  for  versions  of  the  Mosaic  or  ChakUean 
legends.  1 

A  third  series  of  these  traditions  appears  among  the  Tura- 
nians, who  are  represented  by  the  aborigines  of  the  Western 
Continent.  Our  countryman,  Mr.  Catlin,  says  that,  "  amongst 
the  one  hundred  and  twenty  tribes  that  he  visited  in  North  and 
South  and  Central  America,  not  a  tribe  exists  that  has  not 
related  to  him  distinct  or  vague  recollections  of  such  a  calamity, 
in  whicli  one  or  three  or  eight  persons  were  saved,  above  the 
waters,  on  the  top  of  a  high  mountain."  Among  the  wild 
Indians  of  South  America,  whose  tribal  names  are  unknown  to 
the  civilized  world,  Humboldt  found  the  tradition  still  fresh  and 
distinct.  "  The  belief  in  a  great  deluge,"  he  says,  "  is  not  con- 
fined to  one  nation  singly,  the  Tamanacs  ;  it  makes  part  of  a 
system  of  historical  tradition,  of  which  we  find  scattered  notions 
among  the  Maypures  of  the  great  cataracts  ;  among  the  Indians 
of  the  Rio  Everato,  which  runs  into  the  Caura  ;  and  among  all 
the  tribes  of  the  upper  Orinoco."  ^  The  close  resemblance 
between  these  stories  and  the  Mosaic  narrative  awakened  in 
Humboldt  very  naturally  the  suspicion  that  they  might  have 
been  taken  from  the  teachings  of  the  Christian  missionaries. 
On  further  reflection  and  inquiry,  he  dismissed  the  doubt  as 
groundless.^  Lenormant,  after  having  passed  a  mass  of  author- 
ities in  review,  said,  "  We  are  constrained  to  admit  that  the 
tradition  of  the  Deluge  among  the  various  nations  of  ]\Iexico  is 
genuine  and  thoroughly  indigenous  ;  it  is  by  no  means  an 
invention  of  the  missionaries,  as  has  been  insinuated."  *  He 
adds,  "  We  can  state  positively  that  it  was  not  borrowed  from 
the  Bible  after  the  advent  of  the  Spaniards."^     He  suggests, 

1  Ency.  Brit.,  9th  ed.,  art.  Deluge.  2  Miller  :  Test.  Rocks,  285, 

8  Ibid.,  287.  ^  Lenormaut:  Beg,  Hist.,  466.  ^  ibid.,  469. 


118  SACRED  HISTOEY. 

however,  that  it  might  have  been  imported  at  an  earlier  epoch 
from  some  other  country.  The  learned  author  might  have 
added  that  such  an  importation  would  confirm  the  authenticity 
of  the  original  tradition,  just  as  copies  of  an  old  manuscript 
prove  the  previous  existence  of  the  manuscript  itself. 

These  recollections  come  to  us  from  the  three  leading  civilized 
races  of  the  ancient  world  :  the  Aryans  or  Indo-Europeans,  the 
Semitic  or  Syro-Arabians,  and  the  Kushites  or  Turanians.  They 
bear  the  marks,  moreover,  which  identify  them  severally  with 
their  peoples.  Many  of  them  boasted  of  navigators  native-born 
to  the  soil,  and  bearing  names  of  familiar  sound.  The  Noah  of 
the  Hebrews  was  known  as  Xisuthros  and  Hasisatra  by  the 
Chaldseans,  as  Teman  by  the  Persians,  as  Manu  and  Satyavrata 
by  the  Hindoos,  as  Deucalion  or  Ogyges  by  the  Greeks,  and  as 
Coxox  or  Tespi  or  Teocipactli  by  the  Mexicans.  The  wife  of 
Noah,  although  anonymous  in  Genesis,  is  the  Pyrrha  of  India, 
the  Nata  or  the  Xochigetzal  of  Mexico.  The  older  nations 
pointed  out  also  the  resting-places  of  the  ark  within  their 
borders.  Phrygia  advanced  the  claims  of  Apemea  ;  the  Arme- 
nians exhibited  the  ruins  of  the  ark  on  Mount  Baris ;  the  Chal- 
daeans  visited  the  fragments  of  Hisisatra's  ship  on  the  Gordyeean 
mountains.^  The  traditions  are  interwoven  not  only  with  the 
national  literature,  but  with  the  polytheism,  with  the  mytholo- 
gical fables,  with  the  distorted  and  fantastic  conceits,  of  the 
heathen.  If  these  peculiarities  were  absent  from  their  accounts 
of  the  Deluge,  the  accounts  themselves  would  be  set  down  as 
spurious.  But  when  the  mythological  elements  are  cleared 
away,  they  leave  a  deposit  of  fact  corresponding  to  the  simple 
and  faithful  narrative  of  Moses.  By  comparing  and  arranging 
the  heathen  narratives,  a  history  of  the  Deluge  may  be  easily 
constructed,  corresponding  in  all  important  particulars  with  the 
story  in  Genesis. 

No  account  is  taken  of  beliefs  in  countries  which  are  in 
possession  of  the  Pentateuch.  Nor  is  it  necessary  to  consider 
what  effect  should  be  given  to  the  myths  current  in  China, 
Egypt,  and  Polynesia.     The  facts,  which  are  undisputed,  show 

1  Lenormant:  p.  439. 


EXTENT  OF  THE  DELUGE.  119 

that  these  reminiscences  are  widely  diffused  among  nearly  all 
peoples,  with  the  sole  exception  of  the  blacks.  They  are  per- 
petuated in  tables  of  stone,  and  in  the  sacred  books  of  the 
Parsees,  Scandinavians,  and  Hindoos.  They  come  to  us  from 
remote  ages,  and  from  distant  parts  of  the  civilized  world, 
from  races  separated  by  mountains,  by  seas,  by  idolatries,  and 
by  antipathies.  Echoes  sound  out  from  the  ruins  on  the 
Euphrates  and  the  Tigris,  and  from  the  wild  woods  of  the  Ori- 
noco and  the  Missouri.  The  untaught  barbarian  in  the  heart  of 
the  Western  Continent  unconsciously  responds  to  the  thought 
of  the  half-civilized  idolaters  of  Central  Asia.  The  proof  stands 
the  test  of  universal  acceptance  :  "  Quod  semper,  quod  uhique, 
quod  ah  omnibus  creditur." 

In  regard  to  the  geographical  extent  of  the  Flood,  the  author- 
ities are  divided ;  some  holding  that  it  was  universal,  submer- 
ging the  entire  planet,  and  others  teaching  that  it  was  limited  to 
the  region  inhabited  at  the  time  by  mankind.^  It  will  be  con- 
venient to  begin  the  investigation  by  clearing  the  question  of 
some  of  the  conditions  under  which  it  is  presented. 

In  the  first  place,  the  whole  body  of  Christian  thought  con- 
curs in  the  proposition  that  the  entire  human  race  was  drowned, 
eight  souls  only  excepted,  together  with  all  the  animals  in  the 
region  covered  by  the  Deluge.  No  support  whatever  is  given 
to  the  theory  of  a  partial  destruction  of  Adam's  descendants, 
or  to  the  fiction  of  the  existence  of  races  of  men  other  than 
Adam's,  and  of  their  escape  from  destruction.  Noah  only 
remained  alive,  and  they  that  were  with  him  in  the  ark.  Next, 
Hugh  Miller  is  of  the  opinion  that  the  question  bears  not  on 
the  punitory  extent  and  ethical  consequences  of  the  Flood,  but 
merely  on  its  geographical  limits  and  natural  effects,  and  is  not 
a  moral  but  a  purely  physical  question.^  But  this  opinion  is 
subject  to  a  caveat  contending  that  the  question  cannot  be 

1  For  a  Universal  Flood.  —  Granville  Penn,  Fairbairn,  Kitto,  Kurtz,  Keil, 
Alford,  Wordsworth,  Jacobus. 

For  a  Limited  Flood.  —  Pool,  Stillingfleet,  Pye  Smith,  Hitchcock,  McDonald, 
Tayler  Lewis,  Hugh  Miller,  C.  Geikie,  A.  Geikie,  the  Bishop  of  Ely  ;  with  the 
Bib.  Cyclopaedias  of  Smith,  of  Fausset,  and  of  McClintock  and  Strong. 

2  Test,  of  Kocks,  30G.    Westminster  Conf.,  chap.  1. 


120  SACRED  HISTORY. 

determined  irrespective  of  the  testimony  of  God's  word.  Geol- 
ogy and  geography  must  give  way  before  whatever  a  sound 
biblical  criticism  shall  ascertain  to  be  true.  We  must  adhere 
to  the  principle,  that,  in  every  question  of  natural  science  or 
history,  the  declarations  of  God's  word  concerning  them  are 
to  be  taken  in  their  obvious  and  historical  sense,  unless  a  modi- 
fied interpretation  is  required  by  facts  which  are  established  in 
the  sight  of  all  mankind.  This  rule  is  applicable  to  Dr.  Kitto's 
remark  :  "  A  plain  man  sitting  down  to  read  the  Scripture 
account  of  the  Deluge  would  have  no  doubt  of  its  universality." 
This  observation  is  not  without  plausibility  ;  for  it  is  written  in 
Moses,  "  All  the  high  hills  that  were  under  the  whole  heaven 
were  covered.  Fifteen  cubits  upwards  did  tiie  waters  j^revail, 
and  the  mountains  were  covered.  And  all  flesh  died  that 
moved  upon  the  earth,  both  of  fowl  and  of  cattle,  and  of  beast, 
and  of  every  creeping  thing  that  creepeth  on  the  earth,  and 
every  man "  (Gen.  vii.  19-21).  But  if  Dr.  Kitto's  "  plain 
man "  should  study  the  Pentateuch,  he  would  discover  that 
Moses  does  not  hesitate  to  employ  general  terms  in  a  limited 
signification,  and  that  in  this  use  of  language  he  is  supported 
by  the  later  writers  of  the  Sacred  Scriptures,  by  Christ  and  his 
disciples,  by  the  most  accurate  historians  ancient  and  modern, 
and,  indeed,  by  the  universal  usages  of  speech.  The  remark 
of  'Moses,  that  all  the  high  hills  that  were  "  under  the  whole 
heaven  "  were  covered  by  the  Flood,  bears  a  family  likeness  to 
the  recorded  purpose  of  Jehovah  to  put  the  dread  and  fear 
of  the  Israelites  upon  the  nations  that  are  under  "  the  whole 
heaven,"  —  the  nations,  to  wit,  that  occupied  the  Oriental  regions 
(Deut.  ii.  25) ;  to  the  declaration  of  Luke,  that  at  the  Pente- 
cost there  were  dwelling  at  Jerusalem,  Jews,  devout  men  out 
of  "every  nation  under  heaven,"  meaning  the  Roman  Empire 
(Acts  ii.  5) ;  and  to  the  statement  of  Paul,  that  in  his  day  the 
gospel  had  been  preached  "  to  every  creature  which  is  under 
heaven,"  meaning  in  all  countries  then  known  (Col.  i.  23). 
When  we  read  that  in  the  Deluge  all  flesh  died  "  that  moved 
upon  the  earth,"  we  are  reminded  of  the  famine,  which  was, 
Moses  says,  "  over  all  the  face  of  the  earth,"  and  was  "  sore  in 


EXTENT  OF  THE  DELUGE.  121 

all  lands,"  and  "  all  the  countries  came  to  buy  corn  "  (Gen.  xli. 
66,  57).  We  remember  also,  so  our  Lord  tells  us,  that  the 
Queen  of  Sheba  came  from  the  "  uttermost  parts  of  the  earth," 
that  is  to  say,  from  a  far-off  region,  to  hear  the  wisdom  of  Solo- 
mon (Matt.  xii.  42)  ;  and  that,  according  to  Matthew,  "  Jerusa- 
lem and  all  Judsea  and  all  the  region  round  about  Jordan,' were 
baptized  of  John  in  the  Jordan,  confessing  their  sins  "  (Matt, 
iii.  5),  meaning  simply  a  very  large  proportion  of  the  people. 

In  regard  to  the  difficulties  which  are  supposed  to  encumber 
the  theory  of  a  universal  deluge,  some,  who  profess  to  have 
investigated  the  subject,  are  of  opinion  that  certain  trees  yet 
living  are  from  four  thousand  to  six  thousand  years  old ;  for 
example,  the  baobab  in  Senegal,  and  the  taxidodium  of  Mexico. 
It  is  assumed  that  an  inundation,  laying  them  under  water  for 
a  year,  would  destroy  them.  It  is  said,  also,  that  a  district  in 
France  is  covered  with  extinct  volcanoes  older  than  the  days 
of  Moses,  exhibiting  cones  of  pumice-stone,  ashes,  and  other 
light  substances  which  could  not  have  resisted  an  overflowing 
flood.  But  Hijgh  Miller  does  not  rely  upon  the  argument 
derived  from  these  trees  and  volcanoes,  on  account  of  uncer- 
tainty in  the  calculations.^ 

It  is  at  least  extremely  doubtful  whether  the  ark  was  large 
enough  to  accommodate  seven  pairs  of  all  clean  animals,  two  of 
all  the  beasts  that  were  upon  earth,  and  all  the  fowls  by  sevens, 
and  of  every  creeping  thing  two  of  each  kind.  Hugh  Miller, 
writing  in  A.D.  1856,  estimated  the  number  of  different  ani- 
mals in  existence  at  1,658  mammals,  6,264  species  of  birds,  and 
657  reptiles.2  Later  estimates  raise  these  figures  to  2,000,  7,000, 
and  1,500  respectively,  to  say  nothing  of  the  120,000  insects 
after  their  kind.^  The  exact  size  of  the  ark  in  cubits  is  fur- 
nished by  Moses.  How  it  was  possible  to  find  room  within  it 
for  all  these  subjects  of  the  animal  kingdom,  together  with 
provisions  for  their  support  for  an  entire  year,  is  an  unsolved 
problem.  But  another  difficulty  still  more  obstinate  relates  to 
the  collection,  from  all  corners  of  the  earth,  of  every  species  of 

1  Testimony,  etc.,  351,  note.  2  Ibid.,  p.  336. 

8  Geikie:  Hours,  etc.,  i.  216. 


122  SACRED  HISTORY. 

cattle,  fowl,  reptile,  and  insect,  their  support  in  the  journey  to 
Mesopotamia  and  in  the  ark,  and  their  redistribution  to  their 
native  haunts.  It  is  sufficiently  difficult  to  explain  how  the 
African  ostrich,  giraffe,  lion,  and  gorilla,  the  Bengal  tiger  and 
the  boa-constrictor,  the  Siamese  elephant,  and  the  polar  bear, 
could  find  their  way  overland  to  Noah,  exposed  to  unfriendly 
climates,  through  thousands  of  miles,  and  then  back  again  to 
their  homes.  Still  further,  if  the  Flood  was  universal,  Australia 
and  New  Holland  must  have  furnished  to  the  ark  their  contin- 
gents of  kangaroos  and  wombats,  and  specimens  of  all  their 
fellow-beasts,  two  and  two  of  each  kind.  By  what  system  of 
navigation  did  these  all  ferry  the  broad  ocean,  first  on  their 
outward  and  then  on  their  homeward  voyage  ?  South  America 
is  on  the  other  side  of  the  globe  from  the  place  where  the  ark 
was  prepared.  Among  its  uncouth  fauna  are  the  sloth,  which 
lives  in  trees  and  rarely  comes  down  to  the  earth,  crawling 
painfully  on  its  surface  ;  and  the  armadillo,  which  burrows  in  the 
ground,  and  seldom  goes  abroad  except  at  night.  Dr.  Geikie 
imagines  a  journey  of  the  sloth  and  his  mate  on  their  way  to 
Noah,  crawling  inch  by  inch  northwards  through  Mexico,  ''  then 
the  whole  length  of  North  America,  then  miraculously  crossing 
Behring's  Straits  ;  thence  westward  through  the  whole  breadth 
of  Asia,  a  continent  broader  than  the  moon."  ^  We  must 
account  also  for  their  return  to  South  America,  and  show  how 
they  could  find  supplies  of  food  while  passing  through  so  many 
climates  and  over  such  vast  spaces ;  and  how  they  were,  all  of 
them,  without  exception,  male  and  female,  protected  from  the 
dangers  of  a  journey  by  sea  and  by  land  from  South  America 
to  Mesopotamia,  and  thence  back  to  South  America. 

The  doctrine  of  a  universal  deluge,  and  the  doctrine  of  a 
limited  deluge,  are  encumbered  with  a  difficult  question  in 
regard  to  the  source  whence  the  waters  were  derived.  The 
sacred  record  nowhere  intimates  that  the  Almighty  created 
the  waters  out  of  nothing,  or  that  he  brought  them  from  a 
rainy  planet,  or  that,  after  they  had  served  their  purpose,  they 
were   miraculously  disposed   of.      Next,  as  against  a  limited 

1  Hours,  etc.,  i.  215. 


EXTENT  OF  THE  DELUGE.  123 

deluge,  it  is  urged  that  a  mass  of  waters  covering  all  tlie  high 
liills  under  the  whole  heaven  would,  in  seeking  their  level, 
cover  the  face  of  the  earth,  producing  a  universal  deluge,  cover- 
ing even  the  polar  regions.  As  against  a  universal  deluge,  it 
is  urged  that  the  introduction  of  such  masses  of  water  would 
increase  the  equatorial  diameter  of  the  earth  by  several  miles ; 
would  change  its  revolution  on  its  axis,  and  its  orbit  around  the 
sun ;  would  disturb  the  solar  system,  and  the  poise  of  the  sys- 
tem in  the  broadv^r  stellar  regions.  In  reply,  Keil  remarks, 
first,  that  we  are  not  at  liberty  to  set  bounds  to  the  Divine 
omnipotence ;  next,  that  the  proportion  of  waters  of  the  Flood 
to  the  entire  mass  of  the  earth  is  no  greater  relatively  than 
that  of  a  profuse  perspiration  pn  the  person  of  a  man.  Another 
writer  has  compared  the  proportion  to  the  thickness  of  the  var- 
nish on  a  twelve-inch  globe.  Dr.  Tayler  Lewis  meets  the  diffi- 
culty by  the  conjecture  that  the  whole  region  inhabited  by  the 
race  was  sunken  deep  down  below  the  level  of  the  seas  ;  and, 
in  due  time,  the  submerged  country  was  raised  again  to  its 
former  level.  Dr.  Lewis  designates  a  portion  of  Central  Asia 
as  possibly  the  scene  of  the  catastrophe,  that  being  at  the  time 
the  home  of  mankind.  The  territory  is  nearly  equal  in  area  to 
Europe  ;  the  general  level  is  below  the  surface  of  the  Black 
Sea ;  its  rivers,  the  Volga,  the  Ural,  and  other  great  streams, 
run  not  to  the  ocean,  but  to  the  interior  lakes,  the  Caspian  and 
the  Aral ;  and  Mount  Ararat  rises  near  the  edge  of  this  great 
depression.  The  sinking  of  the  country  bounded  by  the  Euxine 
and  the  Gulf  of  Finland  on  the  north,  and  the  Persian  Gulf  on 
the  south,  would  submerge  the  dry  land,  carrying  with  it  JMount 
Ararat.  The  uplifting  again  of  the  sunken  territory  would  re- 
turn the  waters  to  the  neighboring  seas,  and  Ararat  to  its  place. 
Some  support  is  afforded  to  this  explanation  by  the  many 
instances  cited  in  the  books,  of  the  elevation  and  de})ression  of 
the  earth  in  historic  times.  Wallace  is  quoted  as  showing  that 
a  vast  portion  of  South  Asia,  a  region  of  over  two  million 
square  miles,  has  sunk  beneath  the  ocean  since  tlie  Mosaic 
creation.^  Miller  calls  attention  to  the  volcanic  forces  which 
1  Malay  Archipelago,  i.  14. 


124  SACEED  IIISTOBT. 

elevated  the  mountain  Jurullo  in  a  single  night  sixteen  hundred 
feet  over  the  plain.^ 

What  has  been  now  set  forth  leads  to  these  conclusions  :  The 
weight  of  authority  and  argument  is  given  to  a  partial  deluge. 
On  that  theory,  the  subject  is  cleared  of  many  difficulties  not 
otherwise  met ;  and  the  narrative  of  Moses  is  rescued  from  an 
interpretation  involving,  not  impossibility  with  God,  but  an 
enormous  expense  of  inconceivable  miracles,  in  a  journey  to  and 
fro  over  the  whole  earth,  of  beasts,  and  birds,  and  reptiles, 
and  insects  of  every  species.  "  God,"  says  Dr.  Chalmers,  "  is 
not  prodigal  of  miracles."  Again,  the  Scripture  fairly  inter- 
preted is  not  "  broken  "  by  the  theory  of  a  limited  inundation. 
While,  however,  we  seem  to  be  shut  up,  by  the  evidence  now 
before  us,  to  accept  this  explanation,  we  may  reasonably  connect 
with  it  a  certain  degree  of  reserve,  until  the  wliole  subject  can 
be  re-examined  in  the  light  of  future  discoveries  in  both  the 
works  and  word  of  God.  This  reserve  will  be  comfortably 
maintained  when  it  is  remembered,  that  the  final  solution  of  the 
problem  cannot  affect  the  relation  of  the  Flood  to  the  plan  of 
redemption. 

Through  the  calamity  a  righteous  sentence  was  inflicted  on 
mankind  for  their  sins.  In  suddenness  and  terror,  in  destruc- 
tive force  and  universality,  it  is  the  ty\iQ  of  the  final  judgment 
at  the  end  of  the  world.  It  was  an  act  of  salvation  also,  pre- 
serving Noah  and  his  family,  but  looking  beyond  them  to  the 
redemption  of  the  race.  Ewald  perceives  that  "its  purpose 
must  have  been  to  wash  clean  the  sin-stained  world,  to  sweep 
away  the  hopelessly  degraded  race  of  man,  and  produce,  upon 
a  purified  and  renovated  earth,  a  new  race,  stimulated  by  that 
warning  voice  to  become  both  purer  and  better."  ^  Lange's 
vievy  goes  deeper :  "  The  sin-deluge  is,  at  the  same  time,  a 
grace-deluge  ;  and  so  far  a  type  of  holy  baptism  (1  Pet.  iii.  21), 
and  of  life  rising  out  of  death.  Therefore  it  is  that  the  old 
ecclesiastical  artists  were  so  fond  of  distinguishing  chapels  of 
burial  by  a  representation  of  it."  ^     From  this  point  of  view,  we 

1  Testimony  of  the  Rocks,  356  seq.  2  Hist,  of  Israel,  i.  270. 

8  Lange  ou  Gen.,  p.  296. 


TUE   CnURCII  IN   THE  ARK.  125 

may  easily  discover  the  relation  of  Noah  and  his  family  to  the 
human  race,  and  to  the  kingdom  of  God. 

Noah  stood  in  the  unique  position  of  the  second  father  of  all 
mankind.  The  headship  of  humanity  was  in  Adam  the  first 
father,  and  in  Noah  the  second  father  of  us  all.  By  virtue  of 
their  headship,  they  became  parties  to  the  memorable  covenants 
which  God  established  with  them,  for  themselves  and  their  seed 
after  them  ;  the  covenant  of  works  with  Adam,  and  tiie  covenant 
of  forbearance  with  Noah.  Further,  Noah  and  his  family  formed 
the  connecting  link  between  the  old  world  and  the  new.  The 
ark  resembled  a  bridge  spanning  the  waters  which  divided  the 
two  worlds ;  and  this  little  family  of  eight  persons  carried  in  its 
bosom  the  gift  of  life  to  the  renovated  earth.  In  this  family, 
again,  the  promise  in  the  first  gospel  received  a  new  develop- 
ment. God  spared  them,  not  only  for  the  sake  of  righteous 
Noah,  but  to  fulfil  the  purpose  of  redemption.  Here,  then, 
the  kingdom  of  God  rises  once  more  out  of  a  famil}^,  as  before 
it  had  taken  its  beginning  in  the  family  of  Adam,  and  as  after- 
wards it  assumed  an  organic  form  in  the  family  of  Abraham. 
The  primal  idea  of  the  family  lies  at  the  foundation  of  God's 
dealings  with  the  race,  and  of  all  the  covenants.  It  is  the 
oldest  society  on  earth,  and  it  is  the  parent  of  both  the  Church 
and  the  State.  No  conception  of  history,  either  sacred  or 
profane,  is  worthy  of  a  thought,  which  does  not  root  itself  in 
the  family  constitution.  Noah's  household  is,  therefore,  the 
new  starting-point  of  these  historical  studies.  Moreover,  these 
eight  souls  constituted  the  Church  in  the  ark.  It  was  identical 
with  the  Church  before  the  Flood.  Its  life  was  the  same ;  its 
members  held  the  same  relation  to  the  covenant  of  grace  ;  the 
same  great  Head  was  over  it ;  the  same  promise,  holy  day, 
creed,  and  ritual,  were  held  sacred  therein.  It  was  also  a 
Church  gathered  out  of  the  world,  and  called  to  an  exalted 
destiny.  The  parents  and  children,  moreover,  had  been  deliv- 
ered from  the  corruption  of  the  ungodly,  even  from  polj'gamy, 
violence,  and  atheism.  They  were  saved,  likewise,  from  the 
destruction  of  the  wicked,  having  been  commanded  to  go  up 
into  the  ark,  shut  in  by  the  Lord  himself,  and  saved  alive.     So 


126  SACEED  mSTOBY. 

far,  again,  as  the  household  professed  to  believe  and  worship 
God,  the  Church  in  the  ark  was  the  Church  visible ;  it  was 
invisible  in  the  persons  of  those  who  were  true  believers  and 
holt/  worshippers.  Nor  was  the  attending  circumstance  absent, 
the  constant  element  in  the  progress  of  the  ages,  —  the  destruc- 
tion of  the  wicked  going  hand  in  hand  with  the  salvation  of 
the  righteous.  The  flood  that  drowned  the  reprobate,  bore  the 
chosen  ones  safely  upon  its  bosom. 


THE  ALTAR  AND   THE  SACRIFICE.  127 


CHAPTER  IX. 

EEVELATIONS   TO   NOAH. 

Gen.  viii.  20-22,  ix.  1-27.  — The  return  of  the  waters  to  the 
seas,  and  the  restoration  of  Noah  to  the  dry  Land,  introduced  a 
new  world,  and  a  distinct  epoch  in  the  history  of  redemption. 
The  occasion  was  distinguished  by  a  series  of  Divine  revelations, 
far  in  advance  of  all  that  had  been  made  known.  The  revela- 
tions communicated  to  Noah  embraced  several  particulars  :  — 
I.  Ordinances  of  Divine  worship,  Gen.  viii.  20-22. 
II.   Special  gifts,  ix.  1-7. 

III.  A  new  covenant,  ix.  8-17. 

IV.  The  second  Messianic  promise,  ix.  25-27. 

I.  Noah  took  possession  of  his  earthly  inheritance  by  an  act 
of  worship.  In  his  intention,  this  was  both  a  thank-offering 
and  a  sin-offering;  at  once  an  expression  of  his  gratitude  to 
Jehovah,  and  a  confession  of  guilt,  together  with  the  acceptance, 
by  faith,  of  the  salvation  revealed  in  the  first  gospel.  But  that 
sacrifice  conveyed  a  broader,  even  a  prophetic,  meaning.  Among 
its  contents  were  some  of  the  ruling  ideas  of  the  future  Hebrew 
ritual.  He  undoubtedly  received  them  from  Jehovah.  Other- 
wise it  had  been  impossible  for  him  to  avoid  mere  will-worship, 
or  to  foreshadow  the  ordinances  of  sacrifice  given  by  the 
Almighty  from  Sinai  seven  hundred  and  fifty  years  later. 

In  the  first  place,  Noah  builded  an  altar.  And  the  altar 
became  the  central  object  in  the  life  of  the  patriarchs,  and  in 
the  Hebrew  ritual ;  it  was  the  genesis  also  of  the  future  taber- 
nacle and  temple.  Next,  Noah  offered  a  sacrifice  in  blood.  He 
brought  before  the  Lord,  not  the  fruits  and  flowers  of  Cain, 


128  S ACHED  UISTOEY. 

but  the  blood  of  Abel.  In  due  time  the  remission  of  sin,  by 
the  shedding  of  blood,  became  the  vital  element  in  the  Mosaic 
ordinances.  Further,  Noah  selected  for  the  altar  the  clean 
beast  and  fowl.  He  took  as  an  offering  to  the  Lord,  no  reptile 
or  wild  animal,  neither  swine  nor  beast  of  burden :  he  took  that 
only  which  might  be  eaten.  Ever  afterwards  the  flesh  of  those 
beasts  and  fowls  which  were  laid  upon  the  altar,  and  none 
others,  might  be  used  as  food.  These  were  called  clean  ani- 
mals. Still  further,  Noah  brought  to  the  altar  at  least  one  of 
every  clean  beast  and  clean  fowl.  It  was  the  most  comprehen- 
sive sacrifice  that  had  ever  been  offered  on  earth ;  linking 
together  also,  as  a  part  of  religion,  the  daily  food  of  the  family, 
and  the  daily  worship  of  God.  Moreover,  the  patriarch  put 
another  conspicuous  ceremony  into  his  ritual :  he  added  fire  to 
blood,  giving  to  the  ordinance  of  sacrifice  as  it  came  from  Abel, 
a  new  character  and  a  new  name,  —  the  burnt-offering.  The 
Hebrew  word  is  Olah,  meaning  ascending ;  signifying  that  the 
victim  was  first  slain,  then  consumed  by  fire,  conveying  from 
the  altar  to  heaven,  in  a  smoke,  the  savor  of  burning  flesh. 
Here  is  disclosed  the  original  of  the  burnt-offering  in  the 
Levitical  law.  The  altar  stood  in  the  outer  court  of  the  taber- 
nacle, open  to  the  sky.  Victims  were  laid  upon  it  morning 
and  evening.  They  were  consumed  by  a  slow  fire,  burning 
from  the  morning  through  all  hours  to  the  morning  again. 
"It  is,"  said  the  Lord,  "a  continual  burnt  offering,  which  was 
ordained  in  Mount  Sinai,  for  a  sweet  savor,  a  sacrifice  made  by 
fire  unto  the  Lord  "  (Num.  xxviii.  6).  The  Olah  of  Noah  and 
Moses  was,  moreover,  the  divinely  appointed  tyj^e  of  the  great 
Sacrifice.  "Wherefore,  when  Christ  cometh  into  the  world,  he 
saith :  Sacrifice  and  offering  thou  wouldst  not,  but  a  body  hast 
thou  prepared  me."  "  And  Christ  also  hath  loved  us,  and  hath 
given  himself  for  us,  an  offering  and  a  sacrifice  to  God  for  a 
sweet-smelling  savor"  (Heb.  x.  5;  Eph.  v.  2).  The  sum  of 
the  matter  is,  that  Noah's  oblation  was  expiatory  and  propheti- 
cal ;  it  involved  the  confession  of  guilt,  the  remission  of  sin  by 
the  shedding  of  blood ;  and  it  pointed  forward  to  the  way  of 
salvation  by  the  sacrifice  of  Christ. 


WOUTII  OF  NOAH'S   OFFERING.  129 

God  accepted  Noah's  offering :  "  The  Lord  smelled  a  sweet 
savor."  By  tliis  we  know  that  Noah  was  divinely  guided  in 
las  form  of  worship ;  it  was  not  in  the  nature  of  will-worsliip, 
but  of  God's  appointment.  Having  respect  to  this  sacrifice,  the 
Lord  said  lluit  he  would  not  again  curse  the  ground  for  man's 
sake,  nor  smite  any  more  every  thing  living.  The  purpose  is 
emphasized  by  the  expression,  "  The  Lord  said  in  his  heart," 
and  it  is  confirmed  in  Isaiah  by  the  form  of  an  oath  (Isa.  liv.  9). 
His  determination  was  deliberate  and  unchangeable,  and  it  was 
the  more  memorable  because  of  what  he  said  before,  and  then 
after,  the  Flood.  Before  the  Flood,  he  saw  that  "  every  imagina- 
tion of  the  thoughts  of  man's  heart  was  only  evil  continually," 
and  he  added,  "  I  will  destroy  man."  After  the  Flood,  he 
resolved  that  he  would  not  again  curse  the  ground  for  man's 
sake,  or  smite  every  thing  living  ;  "for,"  said  he,  "  the  imagina- 
tion of  man's  heart  is  only  evil  from  his  youth."  Some  of  the 
critics  have,  as  they  think,  detected  an  inconsistency  here. 
But  the  solution  is  found  at  Noah's  altar,  and  is  complete. 
Looking  at  man's  corrupt  nature  only,  he  was  angry.  Looking 
at  the  great  reconciliation  prefigured  in  Noah's  burnt-offering, 
he  was  propitiated.  So  impious  was  man's  enmity  to  God,  that 
he  deserved  to  be  destroyed  by  the  Deluge.  And  so  inveterate 
w^as  his  enmity,  that  no  punishment  would  change  his  nature, 
no  deluge  would  wash  away  his  defilement.  Here  came  in  the 
glorious  truth,  "  Where  judgment  is  impotent,  grace  may  pre- 
vail." God  would  no  more  destroy  :  he  would  save.  He  would 
provide  the  blood  that  cleanses  from  all  sin,  the  reconciliation 
which  at  once  pardons  and  purges  the  imagination  of  man's 
heart.  As  a  material  element  in  this  purpose  of  mercy,  the 
Lord  resolved  to  restore  the  seasons  which  had  been  suspended 
during  the  year  of  the  Flood,  making  one  long  winter,  to  their 
regular  and  recurring  courses  while  the  earth  shall  remain. 
The  promise  of  day  and  night  was  added  to  complete  the  guar- 
anty. The  new  epoch,  with  the  altar  of  Noah  set  up  at  its 
threshold,  was  an  epoch  of  grace  renewed.  The  methods  and 
extent  of  this  grace  are  still  further  disclosed  in  the  gifts 
and  promises  of  God  to  Noah  and  his  posterity. 


130  SACBED  HISTORY. 

II.  Jehovah,  having  graciously  accepted  Noah's  burnt- 
offering,  is  represented  as  communing  with  himself:  "The  Lord 
smelled  a  sweet  savor ;  and  the  Lord  said  in  his  heart,"  etc. 
On  the  ground  of  the  great  propitiation  of  which  the  offerings 
were  symbolical,  his  inmost  thoughts  were  thoughts  of  peace 
and  good-will  to  men.  They  found  expression  in  three  forms, 
of  which  the  first  is  a  series  of  free  gifts. 

In  the  first  place,  he  renewed  to  Noah  and  his  sons  the 
possession  of  the  earth.  The  terms  in  which  the  original  grant 
was  made  to  Adam  were  repeated  to  Noah.  The  grant  to 
both  was  introduced  with  a  benediction.  God  blessed  Adam, 
and  he  blessed  Noah.  He  said  to  both,  "  Be  fruitful,  and 
multiply,  and  replenish  the  earth  "  (comp.  Gen.  i.  23).  All 
things  began  anew  with  the  new  world  and  its  heirs. 

God  gave  to  them  also  a  qualified  dominion  over  the  lower 
animals.  The  nature  and  extent  of  Noah's  supremacy  differed 
distinctly  from  that  of  Adam.  In  Adam,  it  was  a  dominion  of 
absolute  authority ;  in  Noah,  it  was  a  lordship  of  "  fear  and 
dread."  Beast  and  fowl,  and  reptile  and  fish,  should  be  subject 
to  Adam  ;  they  should  be  afraid  of  Noah.  The  brutes  resist, 
often  ferociously,  the  rule  of  man  ;  yet  even  the  tiger,  the  lion, 
and  the  venomous  reptiles  instinctively  flee  from  him,  unless 
brought  to  bay,  or  maddened  by  hunger  or  by  peril  to  their 
young.  We  recognize  here  indelible  signs  both  of  the  gift  of 
the  earth,  and  the  curse  upon  it  for  man's  sake. 

Moreover,  animal  flesh  was  now  given  for  food,  and  mankind 
were  authorized  to  use  it  as  freely  as  they  use  vegetables  and 
fruits.  We  are  not  at  liberty  to  say  that,  in  point  of  fact,  flesh 
was  not  eaten  by  the  antediluvians.  We  are  told  only  that  a 
Divine  permission  to  use  it  was  now,  for  the  first  time,  granted. 
The  distinction  between  the  clean  and  the  unclean,  just  estab- 
lished at  the  altar  of  Noah,  prepared  the  way  for  this  new  gift. 
And  we  must  not  overlook  the  stigma  which  was  quickly  put 
on  the  worship  of  animals  by  the  decree  instilling  the  fear  and 
dread  of  man  into  their  natures,  and  then  giving  the  choicest  of 
them  all  to  man  for  food.  This  degrading  form  of  idolatry, 
known  as  fetichism,  is  described  in  the  later  Scriptures,  which 


FLESH  FOR   FOOD,   BLOOD  FOR   SIN.  131 

speak  of  the  idol  of  man's  hands ;  of  the  tree,  a  part  of 
which  the  idohiter  uses  for  cooking,  and  a  part  for  the  making 
of  a  god  ;  of  flesh,  a  part  of  which  he  roasts  and  eats,  and  "  the 
residue  thereof  he  maketh  a  god,  even  his  graven  image,  and 
falleth  down  unto  it,  and  woishippeth  it,  and  prayeth  to  it, 
and  saith, '  Deliver  me  ;  for  thou  art  my  God '  "  (Isa.  xliv.  9-20). 

Again,  a  strict  limitation  is  laid  upon  the  use  of  flesh  for 
food :  "  But  flesh  with  the  life  thereof,  which  is  the  blood 
thereof,  shall  ye  not  eat."  These  words  contain  far  more  than 
the  prohibition  of  raw  flesh,  and  the  flesh  taken  from  living- 
animals.  They  disclose  the  basis  of  the  law  of  sacrifice,  hi 
which  blood  was  appointed  by  God  as  the  symbol  of  expiation 
for  sin.  It  was  so  treated  in  the  Levitical  law :  "  For  the  life 
of  the  flesh  is  in  the  blood,  and  I  have  given  it  to  you  upon  the 
altar  to  make  an  atonement  for  your  souls"  (Lev.  xvii.  10,  11). 
The  inflexible  rule  was,  flesh  for  food,  blood  for  sin.  The  ordi- 
nance rested  upon  three  ruling  ideas  :  First,  life  is,  to  all  appear- 
ance, associated  with  the  blood.  Next,  God  had  reserved  the 
blood  for  himself,  as  an  offering  for  sin  ;  it  was  to  be  poured 
upon  the  altar,  and  the  residue  was  to  be  drunk  up  by  the  earth. 
Lastly,  being  a  consecrated  thing,  it  might  not  be  eaten.  Thus 
an  important  feature  of  the  Mosaic  economy  was  disclosed  nearly 
eight  hundred  years  before  the  law  was  given.  The  ordinance 
in  regard  to  the  life  that  is  in  the  blood  of  animals,  was  imme- 
diately followed  by  an  ordinance  in  regard  to  the  life  that  is  in 
the  blood  of  man. 

Further,  Jehovah  said,  "And  surely  your  blood  of  your  lives 
will  I  require  :  at  the  hand  of  every  beast  will  I  require  it,  and 
at  the  hands  of  man ;  at  the  hand  of  every  man's  brother  will 
I  require  the  life  of  man.  Whoso  sheddeth  man's  blood,  by 
man  shall  his  blood  be  shed ;  for  in  the  image  of  God  made  he 
man." 

1.  The  penalty  of  death  is  affixed  to  the  crime  of  murder. 
This  ordinance  is  not  only  an  expression  of  the  Divine  will,  but 
it  gives  effect,  also,  to  the  sense  of  justice  which  is  implanted 
in  the  human  bosom.  Cain  felt,  instinctively,  that  he  deserved 
to  die ;  he  was  sure  that  others  thought  the  same,  and,  further, 


132  SACRED  HISTORY. 

that  every  man  who  saw  him  would  feel  himself  moved  to  put 
him  to  death.  Nothing  but  the  Divine  protection  gave  him 
impunity. 

2.  The  reason  of  the  law  is  plainly  declared:  "For  in  the 
image  of  God  made  he  man."  He  who  strikes  at  the  life  of  a 
man,  strikes  at  God's  image,  and,  through  his  image,  at  God 
himself.  Murder  is  not  only  a  crime  against  humanity,  but  is 
leze-majesty  as  against  the  Almighty.  We  come  here  upon  the 
wickedness  of  suicide ;  for  self-murder  is  a  thrust  at  the  image 
of  God  in  one's  own  soul. 

3.  The  brute  beast  killing  a  man  must  be  slain.  By  this 
measure  a  repetition  of  the  tragedy  is  prevented.  We  are 
strengthened  also  by  the  act  of  slaying  the  brute,  in  the  appre- 
hension of  the  sacredness  of  human  life ;  and  we  are  justified 
in  the  extermination  of  ferocious  beasts  and  venomous  reptiles. 

4.  The  minister  charged  with  the  infliction  of  the  penalty  is 
appointed.  "At  the  hand  of  every  man's  brother  will  I  require 
the  life  of  man."  The  Hebrew  for  "  every  man's  brother " 
signifies  literally  "the  one  and  the  other,"  meaning  that  God 
requires  of  every  living  man  the  blood  of  the  murderer ;  there 
shall  be  no  escape  for  the  guilty,  and  no  excuse  for  "  the  other  " 
who  connives  at  his  escape.  The  Sovereign  of  the  universe 
appoints  the  officer  of  justice.  And  this  appointment  is  justi- 
fied by  the  fact  that  man  is  the  image  of  God  in  moral  judg- 
ment, in  the  sense  of  justice,  and  in  the  gifts  of  reason  and  the 
free  will.  As  such,  he  is  qualified  to  represent  the  Almighty 
in  the  trial,  conviction,  and  execution  of  the  murderer. 

5.  The  law  is  of  universal  and  perpetual  obligation.  The 
lawgiver  is  the  Almighty.  And  the  law  is  in  the  nature  of  a 
Divine  command.  It  was  given  to  Noah,  the  second  father  of 
the  race,  taking  its  date  from  the  beginning  of  the  new  world, 
and  standing  among  the  foremost  institutes  in  the  established 
order  of  things.  Imperishable  attributes  of  humanity,  the 
image  of  God  in  man,  vindicate  the  sentence  of  death  on  the 
murderer.  It  appears  among  other  Noachian  ordinances  con- 
fessedly permanent ;  and  it  is  preceded  in  the  record  by  the 
law  of  sacrifice,  and  followed  by  the  covenant  with  Noah  for 


COVENANT  OF  FORBEARANCE.  133 

himself  and  all  his  posterity.  Provisionally,  it  was  set  up  as  a 
barrier  to  the  violence  which  had  filled  the  old  world ;  prospec- 
tively, it  pointed  forward  to  a  place,  in  the  Mosaic  institutes 
and  in  the  New  Testament,  for  the  sword  in  the  hands  of  the 
magistracy,  and  for  the  protection  of  human  life  in  all  ages. 
It  bears  all  the  marks  of  a  permanent  Divine  ordinance  as 
distinguished  from  temporary  Mosaic  usages. 

6.  These  two  brief  verses  are,  by  the  soundest  publicists, 
held  to  contain  the  fundamental  principles  of  civil  government 
in  the  hands  of  a  magistracy.  The  duty  of  protecting  human 
life  from  the  hand  of  violence  is  enjoined  on  mankind.  To  that 
end,  the  power  of  life  and  death  is  conferred  upon  us.  And  the 
three  functions  of  the  magistracy  are,  not  obscurely,  described 
in  this  place,  —  the  legislative  enacting  the  laws,  the  judicial 
applying  the  laws  to  the  conduct  of  men,  and  the  executive 
enforcing  their  sanctions.*  Luther  finds  in  the  eight  verses  the 
appointment  of  an  order  of  instruction  in  Noah's  offering,  an 
economy  in  the  blessing  on  the  family,  and  a  law  of  protection 
in  the  magistracy.  The  Almighty  now  repeats,  in  the  seventh 
verse,  the  promise  of  the  illimitable  and  orderly  increase  of 
mankind:  "Be  fruitful  and  multiply;  bring  forth  abundantly 
in  the  earth,  and  multiply  therein."  But  the  catastrophe  of  tlie 
Flood  might  well  awaken  in  the  mind  of  Noah  the  apprehension 
of  its  recurrence  from  time  to  time,  laying  waste  his  inheritance. 
The  Almighty  relieved  his  natural  fears  by  establishing  a  cove- 
nant with  him  and  his  posterity. 

III.  This  covenant  comes  before  us  in  several  aspects :  (1)  It 
has  been  described  as  a  covenant  of  forbearance.  The  preser- 
vation of  the  earth  from  the  waters  of  another  flood  is  the  sole 
promise  conveyed  by  its  terms,  strictly  interpreted. 

(2)  It  was  a  new  manifestation  of  the  covenant  of  grace.  It 
secured  an  opportunity  for  the  execution  of  the  plan  of  salvation. 
If  the  race  had  been  wholly  destroyed,  the  eight  souls  not 
excepted,  the  promise  in  the  first  gospel  would  have  failed :  the 
seed  of  the  woman  and  the  seed  of  the  serpent  would  have 
perished  together.     Or,  if  a  succession  of  sweeping  floods  were 

1  Dr.  R.  J.  Breckinridge. 


134  .  SACRED  n  I  STORY. 

to  occur  through  the  ages,  a  few  only  being  saved  each  time, 
the  promise  would  come  almost  to  naught.  Not  only  the  reno- 
vation of  the  earth  and  its  repopulation,  but  its  future  preser- 
vation as  well,  were  conditions  indispensable  to  the  dignity  of 
this  plan  of  redemption.  "  There  shall  be  no  more  flood  to 
destroy  the  earth,"  was  a  guaranty  that  God's  plan  of  saving 
grace  should  not  be  defeated  by  another  universal  destruction. 
"  There  may  be  floods  and  famines  and  pestilence  on  parts  of 
the  earth's  surface ;  tribes  may  be  extirpated,  and  nations"  dis- 
persed :  but  all  flesh  shall  be  no  more  destroyed."  Nor  does 
this  guaranty  lose  sight  of  the  final  conflagration  to  which  the 
earth  is  hastening  (2  Pet.  iii.  5-10).  For,  not  to  lay  undue 
stress  on  this  fact  that  the  last  catastrophe  shall  come  not  in 
water  but  in  fire,  we  must  bear  in  mind  that  this  will  mark  the 
end  of  the  world,  the  plan  of  redemption  having  been  fully 
carried  out.  Again,  the  ground  of  the  covenant  with  Noah  is 
disclosed  in  the  covenant  of  grace.  By  the  act  of  God  putting 
him  in  possession  of  the  new  inheritance,  "Noah  became  heir 
of  the  righteousness  which  is  by  faith  "  (Heb.  xi.  7).  The 
difference  between  Noah,  taking  his  possession  under  the  cove- 
nant which  is  conditioned  not  on  works  but  on  faith,  and  Adam, 
who  was  an  heir  of  the  righteousness  obtained  by  original  crea- 
tion, is  sufficiently  obvious.  Moreover,  the  immediate  ante- 
cedent of  this  covenant  was  the  burnt-offering  of  Noah :  God 
smelled  a  sweet  savor  from  that  offering,  and  said  he  would  no 
more  smite  the  earth.  He  would  preserve  the  race  until  the 
seed  of  the  woman,  even  Christ,  should  come  to  take  away  sin 
by  offering  himself  once  for  all. 

(3)  The  promise  in  the  covenant  was  made  for  the  benefit 
of  the  lower  animals  (v.  10).  This  is  not  the  only  place  in 
the  record  which  points  out  the  bond  uniting  the  rational  to  the 
brute  creation.  Man  and  the  lower  animals  were  made  on 
the  same  creative  day  ;  dominion  over  the  beasts  and  fowls  was 
given  Adam,  in  token  whereof  they  were  brought  to  him  to  see 
by  what  names  he  would  call  them  ;  their  skins  were  given  to 
man  for  clothing  in  the  days  of  Adam,  and  their  flesh  for  food 
in  the  days  of  Noah ;    they  were  drowned  in  the  flood  that 


THE  COVENANT   UNCONDITIONED.  135 

destroyed  the  human  race  ;  a  few  of  them  were  saved  in  the  ark 
with  Noah  ;  and  now  they  are  admitted  by  virtue  of  a  covenant 
to  some  small  share  in  the  Divine  mercy,  while  they  are  subjected 
to  the  fear  and  dread  of  man. 

(4)  The  covenant  was  made  with  Noah  and  his  sons  for 
themselves  and  for  their  posterity.  The  people,  for  example, 
who  are  now  on  earth,  were  born  under  a  covenant  by  virtue  of 
which  they  are  preserved  from  destruction  by  a  general  deluge. 
The  covenant  with  Noah,  like  that  of  works  and  of  grace  at 
the  first,  and  like  that  with  Abraham  afterward,  extended  to  the 
posterity  of  the  party  with  whom  it  was  concluded.  The  Pela- 
gian doctrine,  that  God  deals  with  every  man  as  if  he  were  an 
independent  power  on  earth,  has  no  support  in  Scripture.  God 
selected  Adam,  Noah,  and  Abraham,  and  afterwards  David,  as 
representative  men,  and  entered  into  covenant  with  them  for 
their  posterity.  It  is  impossible  to  understand  the  plan  of 
Providence  in  the  disregard  of  this  integral  element  in  its 
structure. 

(5)  Very  conspicuous  in  this  covenant  is  the  absence  from  it 
of  the  idea  of  reciprocity.  God  pledged  himself  that  there 
should  be  no  more  deluges.  But  he  took  no  counter-pledges 
from  mankind.  The  extension  of  the  covenant  to  the  lower 
animals  proves  that  its  promises  were  not  reciprocal.  The  gift 
was  absolute  ;  no  duty  on  our  part  is  exacted  either  as  the  con- 
dition of  the  promise,  or  the  security  for  its  perpetuity.  It  was 
purely  an  act  of  mercy,  not  deserved  by  any  thing  good  in  man, 
not  to  be  forfeited  by  any  thing  in  him  of  the  evil  and  unthank- 
ful. "  It  is  of  the  Lord's  mercy  that  we  are  not  consumed." 
Not  only  are  these  blessings  conveyed  by  the  terms  of  the 
covenant,  but  they  shine  forth  in  its  beautiful  token,  the 
rainbow. 

There  is  nothing  in  the  record,  or  in  the  nature  of  the  case, 
showing  that  the  rainbow  was  unknown  before  the  Deluge.  Nor 
is  that  assumption  needed  to  explain  the  appointment  of  this 
phenomenon  to  be  a  sign  to  Noah  of  a  new  covenant.  The 
difficulty,  if  there  be  any,  is  resolved  by  the  thought  that  the 
bow,  though  it  had  been  a  familiar  object  from  the  creation. 


136  SACRED  HISTORY. 

now  became  the  sign  of  a  new  idea,  tlie  idea  of  a  Divine  cove- 
nant. The  principle  here  involved,  an  old  sign  made  to  bear 
a  new  signification,  runs  through  the  Scriptures.  It  is  well 
established,  that  circumcision,  for  example,  was  in  use,  especially 
among  the  Egyptians,  long  before  the  days  of  Abraham.  But 
it  was  simply  an  expedient  for  the  purpose  of  health  and  clean- 
liness. Jehovah  chose  this  ancient  custom  to  be  the  sign  of  his 
covenant  with  Abraham  and  his  posterity,  and  to  be  the  sjmibol 
in  his  Church  of  consecration  to  God,  and  of  spiritual  purifica- 
tion. He  raised  the  usage  of  the  heathen  to  the  sanctity  of  a 
sacrament.  In  like  manner,  a  custom  of  common  life,  the  lamb 
roasted,  and  eaten  with  bread  and  wine,  became  another  sacra- 
ment. Our  Lord,  before  he  was  betrayed,  instituted  the 
sacrament  of  the  supper,  in  the  bread  and  the  wine,  to  represent 
the  remission  of  sins  by  his  blood.  After  his  resurrection,  he 
appointed  the  sprinkling  of  the  body  by  water,  to  represent, 
in  the  sacrament  of  baptism,  regeneration  by  the  work  of  the 
Holy  Spirit.  The  analogy  is  obvious  between  these  ordinances 
and  the  appointment  of  the  rainbow  as  the  token  of  a  new 
covenant.  A  further  illustration  of  this  principle  appears  in 
what  has  been  called  the  "  language-moulding  power  of  Chris- 
tianity ;  "  the  selection,  to  wit,  of  certain  Greek  words  for  the 
purposes  of  inspiration.  Words  there  are  which  have  been 
lifted  up  from  the  level  of  heathen  thought  to  express  Christian 
conceptions,  vessels  ordained  to  bear  spiritual  truth  to  the 
world.  We  may  cite  the  Greek  term  lo(/os,  the  classical  mean- 
ing of  which  is  a  living,  spoken  word  ;  in  the  New  Testament, 
it  is  set  to  signify  the  gospel  and  the  person  of  the  Son  of  God. 
A7iastasis,  the  act  of  rising  from  sleep,  is  used  by  the  Spirit  to 
describe  the  resurrection  from  the  dead  in  a  spiritual  body. 
Heaven,  in  classic  use,  signifies  primarily  the  firmament  above 
us  ;  in  the  New  Testament,  it  sometimes  describes  the  dwelling- 
place  of  God.  Flesh  is  made  to  mean  the  sinful  condition  of 
human  nature  ;  life  stands  for  holiness  and  blessedness,  death 
for  sin  and  misery.  Biblical  scholars  point  out  more  than  a 
hundred  Greek  words  which,  so  to  speak,  are  adopted  by  the 
Holy  Spirit  into  the  language  of  his  kingdom.     Many  hundred 


THE  BOW  IN  THE  CLOUD.  137 

others  are  less  deeply  colored  by  the  process  of  inspiration. 
The  appointment  of  the  rainbow,  therefore,  as  the  sign  of  the 
Noachian  covenant,  follows  the  general  law  of  Scripture,  whereby 
a  well-known  object  is  employed  to  set  forth  promises  and  truths, 
now  for  the  first  time  distinctly  revealed.  The  bow  in  the 
cloud,  well  known  before  the  days  of  Noah,  became  the  signal 
of  a  Divine  promise,  a  beautiful  phenomenon  clothed  with  a 
new  meaning.  If  we  may  revert,  for  a  moment,  to  the  history 
of  the  fall  in  Paradise,  we  may  find,  in  the  principle  here  set 
forth,  a  satisfactory  explanation  of  the  curse  pronounced  on  the 
serpent :  "  On  thy  belly  shalt  thou  go,  and  dust  shalt  thou  eat 
all  the  days  of  thy  life."  We  may  explain  and  say  that  the 
serpent  was  originally  created  to  crawl  in  the  dust,  but  this 
prostration  should  be,  thenceforth,  a  perpetual  sign  of  degrada- 
tion and  abasement.  The  contempt  of  mankind  should  be 
associated  with  the  position  in  which  it  was  created. 

One  other  point  remains.  The  bow  in  the  cloud  was  the 
token  simply  of  the  covenant,  not  a  sacramental  sign.  The 
difference  between  the  sign  of  a  Divine  covenant,  and  a  sign 
bearing  a  sacramental  character,  is  twofold.  First,  a  sacrament 
is  a  sign  of  the  covenant  of  grace,  and  of  the  spiritual  benefits 
conveyed  therein.  Baptism  and  the  Lord's  Supper  are  sacra- 
ments instituted  by  Christ,  wherein,  by  sensible  signs,  Christ 
and  the  benefits  of  the  new  covenant  are  represented,  sealed, 
and  applied  to  believers.  The  rainbow  had  no  such  significancy. 
Next,  in  a  sacrament  is  something  to  be  done  by  us,  or  ajjplied 
to  us  ;  a  sacramental  action,  so  called.  In  baptism,  water  is 
applied  to  the  subject  in  the  name  of  the  Trinity  ;  in  the  supper, 
there  are  the  acts  of  breaking  the  bread,  of  blessing  and  distri- 
bution, of  eating  the  bread  and  drinking  the  wine.  But,  in  the 
matter  of  the  rainbow,  there  is  no  act  on  our  part  of  acceptance, 
or  worship,  or  faith.  It  is  not  required  that  we  look  upon  the 
b(jw,  even  ;  for  God  said,  "  I  will  look  upon  it  that  I  may 
remember  the  everlasting  covenant." 

This  account  of  the  new  order  of  things  secured  by  the 
Noachian  covenant  is  completed,  in  the  record,  by  a  prophecy 
respecting  the  races   which  should  take  their  origin  from  the 


138  SACRED   HISTORY. 

three  sons  of  Noah ;  for  by  them  the  earth  was,  in  clue  time, 
overspread.  The  future  destiny  of  each  family,  and  its  relation 
to  the  other  two,  and  to  the  kingdom  of  God  on  earth,  are 
pointed  out  in  what  is  called  the  second  Messianic  promise. 

IV.  The  Pkomise  (Gen.  ix.  18-27).  —  Noah,  the  second  father 
of  the  race,  like  Adam  our  first  father,  was  overtaken  by  a  fla- 
grant sin.  Attempts  have  been  made  to  excuse  Noah's  conduct. 
But  the  plain,  blunt  word  of  Calvin  is  better  than  any  apology : 
"  I  rather  suppose  that  we  are  to  learn,  from  the  drunkenness 
of  Noah,  what  a  filthy  and  detestable  crime  drunkenness  is." 
Nobody  offers  an  excuse  for  the  indecency  of  Ham.  It  pro- 
ceeded from  a  native-born  spirit  of  indecency,  and  of  ribaldry 
and  mockery  towards  all  that  is  good.  Ham's  crime  divided 
the  sons  of  Noah  into  two  parties,  —  Ham  and  his  posterity 
representing  the  seed  of  the  serpent ;  Shem  and  Japheth,  with 
their  descendants,  the  seed  of  the  woman.  There  is  an  analogy 
between  the  sin  of  Noah,  and  the  sin  of  Adam.  Both  were 
followed  by  a  curse  on  the  guilty,  and  a  blessing  on  the  right- 
eous. Moreover,  the  first  Messianic  promise  was  dej)osited  in 
the  bosom  of  the  curse  on  the  serpent ;  even  so  the  second 
Messianic  jDromise  was  associated  with  the  curse  on  Ham. 

The  inspired  utterance  now  before  us  takes  the  form  of  an 
ode,  in  three  couplets ;  one  for  each  of  the  brothers.  Each 
couplet  sounds  the  note  of  judgment  on  the  guilty  one :  — 

"  Cursed  be  Canaan ; 

A  servant  of  servants  shall  he  be  unto  his  brethren. 
Blessed  be  Jehovah,  the  God  of  Shem ; 

And  Canaan  shall  be  his  servant. 
God  shall  enlarge  Japheth,  and  he  shall  dwell  in  the  tents  of  Shem ; 

And  Canaan  shall  be  his  servant." 

In  the  first  stanza,  it  appears,  that,  although  Ham  sinned, 
his  son  Canaan  is  cursed.  This  incident  has  been  used  to 
illustrate  the  rule  whereby  the  sins  of  the  father  are  visited 
upon  the  children.  The  principle  of  retributive  justice,  also, 
has  been  discovered  here  ;  Ham  had  dishonored  liis  father,  and 
in  return  was  put  to  shame  by  the  degradation  of  his   son 


THE  CURSE   OF  CANAAN.  139 

Canaan.  These  moral  lessons  being  duly  weighed,  attention 
should  be  given  to  the  historical  significancy  of  the  abject 
position  assigned  by  Noah  to  Canaan.  This  affords  the  clew  to 
the  proper  interpretation  of  the  prophecy,  foreshowing  the  plan 
of  Providence  for  the  later  ages.  Canaan's  descendants,  far 
more  than  the  posterity  of  any  other  son  of  Ham,  were  brought 
into  close  contact  with  Semitic  Hebrews.  The  prophecy  of 
Noah  in  regard  to  Canaan  was,  in  the  course  of  time,  fulfilled 
to  the  letter,  in  the  subjugation  of  the  Canaanites  by  the 
Semitic  Hebrews.  The  sons  of  Canaan  settled  themselves  in 
the  land  to  which  they  gave  their  name.  They  were  the 
aborigines.  They  cultivated  the  fertile  soil,  they  planted  gar- 
dens and  vineyards,  and  built  walled  cities.  When  Abraham, 
the  Shemite,  first  saw  the  country,  the  Canaanite  was  in  the 
land  (Gen.  xii.  6).  Unconsciously  to  themselves,  the  aborigines 
held  the  domain  in  trust  for  the  benefit  of  the  Hebrews. 
When  the  iniquity  of  the  Canaanites  was  full  (Gen.  xv.  IG), 
the  Hebrews  took  possession  of  the  country  by  force  of  arms. 
Multitudes  of  the  natives  were  slain,  and  others  were  reduced 
to  servitude  ;  they  became  hewers  of  wood  and  drawers  of 
water.  At  last  the  scattered  and  broken  remnants  of  the  con- 
quered tribes  were  enslaved  by  Solomon  (1  Kings  ix.  20,  21). 
In  their  turn  the  sons  of  Japheth  took  up  the  work  of  subju- 
gation. The  Phcenicians  were  the  sons  of  Canaan ;  the  Persians 
and  Macedonians,  by  whom  the  Phoenicians  were  subdued,  were 
the  sons  of  Japheth.  The  Carthaginians  were  Canaanites  of  the 
Phoenician  stock ;  and  the  Carthaginians  were  ignominiously 
driven  under  the  yoke  by  the  Romans,  the  sons  of  Japheth. 
As  it  has  been  said,  "  We  can  almost  hear  the  echo  of  Noah's 
curse  in  Hannibal's  agnosco  fortu7iam  Carthaginis.,  when  the  head 
of  Hasdrubal,  his  brother,  was  thrown  contemptuously  into  the 
Punic  lines."  Such  was  the  curse  on  Canaan.  According  to 
its  terms,  he  was  doomed  to  become  a  "servant  of  servants," 
an  abject  slave,  "to  his  brethren."  And,  in  point  of  fact,  the 
Canaanites  have  been  reduced,  not  only  to  the  ordinary  con- 
dition of  conquered  peoples,  but,  very  largely,  to  involuntary 
and  degrading  servitude,  by  their  Semitic  and  Japhetic  masters. 


140  SACRED  HISTORY. 

The  abject  position  assigned  to  Canaan,  first  in  the  prophecy 
of  Noah,  and,  since  that  was  uttered,  in  the  history  of  the  race, 
shows  that  he  was  a  typical  head  of  the  serpent  wliich  was  to 
be  bruised. 

Noah's  prophecy  in  regard  to  Shem  took  the  form,  not  of  a 
benediction  on  Shem,  but  of  a  doxology  to  God.  "  Blessed  be 
the  Lord  God  of  Shem."  The  boon  promised  here  is  indicated 
by  the  name  Jehovah  God,  given  to  the  Almighty.  He  is 
called,  not  Elohim,  the  general  term  describing  the  Divine 
Being,  but  by  his  greater  name  Jehovah,  the  God  of  redemp- 
tion, the  covenant-giving  and  covenant-keeping  God,  even  He 
who  had  just  entered  into  a  special  covenant  with  Noah.  Next, 
Jehovah  is  called  the  God  of  Shem.  Never  before,  in  Scripture, 
is  the  Almighty  called  the  God  of  any  one  person  or  race.  But 
after  this,  the  distinguished  honor  follows  the  line  of  Shem 
throughout  the  ages.  Jehovah  is  described  as  the  God  of 
Abraham ;  the  God  of  Abraham  and  of  Isaac  and  of  Jacob ; 
the  God  of  his  people  Israel.  Five  times  in  the  Ten  Com- 
mands he  says  to  Israel :  "  I  am  Jehovah,  thy  God."  Christ, 
moreover,  quotes  with  emphasis  the  wxDrds  of  God,  "I  am 
the  God  of  Abraham,  of  Isaac,  and  Jacob ; "  connecting  this 
saying  with  an  authoritative  declaration  of  the  resurrection 
of  the  dead.  Noah's  prophetic  use  of  the  covenant-name  of 
Jehovah  in  the  doxology,  and  the  words  of  the  doxology  itself, 
indicate  the  establishment  of  an  intimate  relation  between  God 
and  the  posterity  of  Shem.  "Blessed  is  that  j^eople  whose 
God  is  Jehovah."  They  foreshow  the  future  exaltation  of  Shem 
over  his  brothers,  in  his  descendant  Eber,  and  later  still  in  the 
illustrious  family  of  Abraham,  with  whom  the  far-famed  covenant 
of  circumcision  was  established. 

This  prediction  has  been  received  by  the  Church  as  the 
second  Messianic  promise.  Not  that  the  person  or  name  of 
the  Messiah  is  set  forth  here ;  not  that  his  coming  in  the  line 
of  Shem  is  declared  in  so  many  words  here :  but  those  j)roj)hetic 
words,  in  their  real  meaning,  point  to  the  person  of  Jesus  Christ. 
What  is  general  and  impersonal  in  the  first  gospel  in  Eden, 
begins  to  descend  to  particulars.     A  sure  but  indefinite  redemp- 


EXPANSION  OF  JAPHETIC  EACES.  141 

tion  was  revealed  in  this  second  promise :  it  is  intimated  that 
the  Holy  Seed  shall  appear,  not  among  the  broader  multitudes 
descending  from"  Noah,  but  in  the  narrower  line  of  Shem. 
Well  might  Noah  say,  "Blessed  be  the  Lord  God  of  Shem." 
Well  might  Zacharias,  the  father  of  John  the  Baptist,  give  echo 
to  Noah's  doxology,  saying,  "Blessed  be  the  Lord  God  of 
Israel"  (Luke  i.  68). 

Turning  to  his  oldest  son,  Noah  said,  "  God  shall  enlarge 
Japheth,  and  he  shall  dwell  in  the  tents  of  Shem."  The  first 
of  these  prophetic  announcements  points  to  worldly  prosperity ; 
the  second,  to  spiritual  privileges.  Recognizing  the  meaning  of 
the  name  Japheth  (far-spreading),  Noah  predicts  for  his  posterity 
a  world-wide  expansion,  including  every  form  of  earthly  exalta- 
tion. The  God  of  Shem  is  Jehovah,  the  God  of  salvation ;  the 
benefactor  of  Japheth  is  Elohim,  the  God  of  creation  and 
providence.  This  particular  looks  only  to  good  things  tempo- 
ral. But  the  second  clause  admits  Japheth  to  a  home  in  the 
tents  of  Shem,  plainly  showing  that  he  should  partake  in  the 
salvation  secured  by  the  gracious  presence  of  Jehovah  among 
the  Semites.  Renown  and  power  are  granted  to  Japheth  by 
the  immediate  gift  of  God ;  salvation  was  laid  up  for  liim  in  the 
keeping  of  Shem. 

Nothing  in  the  history  and  joresent  state  of  the  world  is 
better  known  than  the  fulfilment  of  this  j)rophecy  in  all  its 
parts.  God  has  enlarged  Japlieth.  From  the  very  beginning 
his  sons  became  the  emigrating,  colonizing  race,  until  they  have 
passed  by  land  and  sea  around  the  world.  They  occupy  the 
larger  and  more  fertile  portions  of  Asia,  the  whole  of  Europe 
and  North  America,  and  are  gaining  possession  of  Central  and 
South  America  and  Australasia  and  Africa.  The  Celts,  Teutons, 
Slaves ;  the  Hindoos,  and  perhaps  the  Tartars,  —  are  Japheth- 
ites.  And  the  exaltation  of  these  peoples  over  the  posterity 
of  Shem  and  Ham,  in  the  sphere  of  material  civilization,  is  not 
disputed.  Not  less  certain  is  it  that  the  posterity  of  Japheth 
have  found  the  salvation  which  was  first  bestowed  on  Shem. 
"  They  dwell  in  the  tents  of  Shem,"  because  they  have  a  com- 
mon spiritual  inheritance  with  the  people  among  whom  the 


142  SACRED  HISTORY. 

Lord  builded  his  tabernacle.  The  prophecy  of  Isaiah  (Ix.  3) 
is  an  echo  of  the  prophecy  of  Noah :  "  Gentiles  shall  come 
to  thy  light,  and  kings  to  the  brightness  of  thy  rising." 
Some  interpreters,  both  Jewish  and  Christian,  have  interpreted 
the  clause  thus :  "He  (God)  shall  dwell  in  the  tents  of  Shem." 
But,  first,  this  explanation  deprives  Japheth  of  the  promise  of 
any  spiritual  blessing  whatever,  while  it  adds  nothing  to  what 
has  been  made  sure  to  Shem.  Both  the  brothers  were  united 
in  the  same  act  of  filial  piety  towards  Noah,  and  it  is  only 
natural  to  conclude  that  both  would  partake  alike  in  the  best 
promises.  Next,  the  use  of  the  name  Jehovah  in  Shem's  bless- 
ing, and  the  use  of  the  name  Elohim  in  Japheth's,  shows  that 
they  are  not  to  be  confounded  in  their  personal  application. 
Again,  the  refrain,  "  Canaan  shall  be  his  servant,"  shows  that 
verse  26  must  be  applied  to  Shem ;  for  a  like  reason,  verse  27 
must  refer  to  Japheth,  otherwise  the  prophecy  in  all  its  parts  is 
thrown  into  confusion. 

Noah's  prophecy  embraced  several  particulars.  First,  the 
seed  of  the  woman  are  represented  by  Shem  and  Japheth,  and 
their  posterity,  shall  be  exalted  in  power  and  renown.  The  seed 
of  the  serpent  are  aptly  represented  in  Canaan ;  and  his  pos- 
terity is  condemned  to  abject  servitude,  enslaved  by  other  races, 
and  enslaving  one  another.  Secondly,  the  blessing  promised 
in  the  first  gospel  shall  flow  along  the  line  of  Shem,  and  from 
his  posterity  God  will  choose  a  particular  people  for  himself. 
Thirdly,  Japheth  shall  receive  the  largest  portion  of  the  habita- 
ble globe  for  his  inheritance,  and  he  shall  partake  of  the  salva- 
tion primarily  bestowed  on  Shem.  Fourthly,  the  establishment 
of  the  visible  kingdom- of  God  on  earth,  and  the  appearance  of 
the  Messiah  in  the  family  of  Shem ;  the  giving  of  the  covenants 
and  the  laws ;  the  time  and  the  manner  in  which  Japheth 
should  be  introduced  into  the  kingdom,  and  receive  the  Messiah ; 
the  spiritual  blessings  which  should  flow  forth  to  the  descend- 
ants of  Ham ;  and  the  happy  period  when  all  the  members  of 
the  human  family  shall  be  embraced  in  the  common  salvation, — 
all  these  joyful  tidings  are  reserved  for  subsequent  prophecies. 
That  revelation  was  steadily  progressive  in  the  primeval  era,  is 


THE  PRINCIPLE  OF  ELECTION.  143 

made  clear  by  a  comparison  of  the  period  of  Adam  with  that 
of  Noah,  and  by  a  comparison  of  the  first  with  the  second 
Messianic  promise. 

The  two  periods  may  be  characterized  thus :  1.  Adam  was 
the  first  father  of  the  whole  race,  and  Noah  was  the  second 
father.  2.  The  earth  was  given  to  both  for  a  possession  :  to 
Adam  as  righteous  by  the  deeds  of  the  law ;  to  Noah,  as  right- 
eous by  faith  (Heb.  xi.  7).  3.  Dominion  over  the  lower  crea- 
tures was  conferred  on  Adam  ;  the  fear  of  man  only  was  promised 
to  Noah.  4.  Both  received  the  promise  of  an  immense  pos- 
terity. 5.  A  covenanted  headship  was  common  to  both.  The 
blessings  and  the  curse  brought  by  Adam  on  his  descendants 
are  repeated,  though  faintly,  by  the  blessing  and  the  curse 
pronounced  by  Noah  on  his  three  sons.  6.  The  sacredness 
of  human  life  was  announced  by  the  Almighty  in  the  exile  of 
Cain,  and  made  more  emphatic  by  the  death  penalty  for  murder 
made  known  to  Noah. 

In  regard  to  the  plan  of  redemption,  it  is  to  be  noted  :  1.  The 
promise  of  salvation  was  made  to  these  patriarchs,  for  them- 
selves and  their  posterity.  2.  The  two  seeds,  the  good  and 
the  evil,  appear  in  Abel  and  in  Shem  and  Japheth  for  the  good, 
and  in  Cain  and  Ham  for  the  evil.  3.  God  selected  from 
both  families  a  son  who  should  stand  in  the  line  of  promise. 
In  Adam's  household  it  was  Seth ;  in  Noah's  it  was  Shem. 
Why  Seth,  rather  than  some  other  son  of  Adam  ?  Why  Shem, 
rather  than  Japheth?  We  discover  here  the  principle  of  a 
sovereign  choice,  or  an  election  of  those  who  should  enjoy  the 
highest  spiritual  blessings.  There  is  no  evidence  in  the  record 
that  either  Seth  or  Shem  was  better  than  his  brother.  Nor 
was  the  law  of  primogeniture  followed  in  the  selection,  for 
neither  of  these  men  was  an  elder  son  (Gen.  v.  3,  x.  21).  4. 
The  second  promise  was  more  definite  than  the  first.  To  Adam 
the  promise  was  given,  generally,  to  the  seed  of  the  woman  ;  in 
the  Noachian  promise  it  was  stipulated  that  her  seed  should 
come  in  a  particular  family,  that  of  Shem,  passing  by  all  other 
races  and  tribes.  5.  Bloody  sacrifices — so  many  believe,  though 
many  doubt  —  stood  connected  with  the  promise  to  Adam  in  the 


144  SACRED  HISTORY. 

beasts  slain  for  their  skins.  Noah  also  offered  bloody  sacri- 
fices ;  but  he  enlarged  the  ritual  by  the  oifering  of  all  clean 
beasts,  and  added  the  use  of  fire  to  the  use  of  blood  at  his 
altar. 

A  homiletical  view  of  Noah's  sacrifice,  looking  at  it  again 
from  its  human  side,  and  discerning  its  spiritual  significance, 
is  presented  by  Dr.  Tayler  Lewis :  — 

"  In  the  flame  mounting  heavenward  from  the  great  altar  of 
Noah,  there  rises  up,  in  all  its  rich  suggestiveness,  the  idea 
of  sacrifice,  of  life-devotion  to  that  which  is  higher  than  all  life  — 
all,  too,  prefiguring  One  who  made  the  great  sacrifice  of  himself 
for  the  sins  of  the  world,  and  who,  although  historically  un- 
known to  Noah,  was  essentially  embraced  in  that  recognition 
of  human  demerit,  and  of  the  Divine  holiness,  which  is  styled 
'  the  righteousness  of  faith.'  Whilst  thus  the  new  spirit  of 
sacrifice  ascends  from  the  baptized  earth,  heaven  is  represented 
as  bowing  down  to  meet  the  symbol  of  reconciliation;  the 
infinite  descends  to  the  finite,  and  humanity,  in  verification  of 
the  scripture  paradox,  rises  through  its  very  act  of  lowliness 
and  self-abasement." 


THE   TENTH  CHAPTER   OF  GENESIS.  145 


CHAPTER    X. 

THE  SONS   OF  NOAH. 

Gen.  x.-xi.  9.  —  The  third  part  of  the  Book  of  Genesis, 
entitled  "  the  generations  of  Noah,"  brings  the  narrative  down 
to  his  death.  It  is  immediately  followed  by  a  section  contain- 
ing an  account  of  "  the  generations  of  the  sons  of  Noah,"  in 
the  form  of  a  genealogy  of  the  families  and  nations  which  pro- 
ceeded from  him,  with  a  history  of  their  dispersion  over  the 
face  of  the  earth.  The  whole  section  is  closely  connected  with 
the  Messianic  prophecy  of  Noah. 

The  tenth  chapter  is  a  contribution  of  the  highest  value  to 
history,  both  sacred  and  profane.  It  is  received  by  the  archae- 
ologists as  the  most  valuable  ethnological  chart  in  the  possession 
ot  mankind.  It  is  entitled  to  that  pre-eminence  by  its  antiquity, 
being  more  than  three  thousand  years  old.  Then,  again,  it  is 
the  only  trustworthy  account  in  existence  of  the  settlement  of 
the  earth  after  the  Deluge.  Sir  Henry  Rawlinson  says  this  is 
"  undoubtedly  the  most  authentic  record  we  possess  in  the 
department  of  ethnology."  ^  Bunsen  says,  "  It  is.  the  most 
learned  among  all  the  ancient  documents,  and  the  most  ancient 
among  the  learned."  ^  Schroder  says,  "  From  this  chapter  must 
the  whole  universal  history  of  the  world  take  its  beginning  ;  "  ^ 
and  with  him  Von  Miiller  concurs.  Moreover,  this  document 
of  less  than  fifty  lines  exhausts  the  science  of  the  origin  of 
nations  ;  no  other  races  have  ever  existed.  All  the  "springs  of 
history  "  are  here  ;  the  real  beginnings  of  the  old-world  empires, 
Egypt,  Assyria,  Babylon,  Judsea,  Syria,  Greece,  and  Rome.  By 
it  are  dissolved  the  fables  told  by  the  nations  of  their  gods,  and 
1  Jacobus  on  Genesis,  chap.  x.  2  Lange:  Genesis,  p.  352. 


146  SACRED  niSTORY. 

heroes,  and  dynasties,  and  millenniums  ;  and  by  it  are  extin- 
guished the  claims  which  any  of  them  have  asserted  to  the 
position  of  autochthones,  people  indigenous  to  their  native  soil. 
The  archaeologist,  excavating  the  ruins  of  the  buried  cities  in 
the  old  world,  digs  down  tlirough  the  rubbish  of  extinct  civili- 
zations till  he  comes  to  the  bed-rock  ;  so  also  the  historian  finds 
his  way  back,  through  the  pre-historic  ages,  to  the  tents  of 
Noah's  three  sons,  the  ancestors  of  us  all.  And  here  we  come 
upon  a  convincing  historical  proof  of  the  unity,  in  origin  and 
species,  of  the  human  race. 

The  plan  upon  which  this  table  of  genealogies  is  constructed 
is  admirable  every  way.  In  the  first  place,  it  rests  historically 
on  the  basis  of  the  Flood.  The  compiler  is  careful  to  say  that 
sons  were  born  to  Shem,  Ham,  and  Japheth,  "  after  the  Flood  " 
(x.  1)  ;  and,  that,  by  the  people  descending  from  these,  "  were 
the  nations  divided  in  the  earth  after  the  Flood  "  (v.  32).  If  we 
overlook  the  destruction  of  all  flesh  by  the  Deluge,  eight  souls 
only  excepted,  and  the  repopulation  of  the  earth  by  the  few 
that  were  saved,  we  can  make  nothing  intelligible  out  of  the 
chapter;  if  the  story  of  the  Deluge  is  a  myth,  the  table  of 
nations  is  a  rigmarole.  Next,  the  register  conveyed  a  useful 
lesson  to  the  Hebrews.  They  were  taught  by  its  contents,  that, 
if  they  descended  from  Noah,  so  also  did  the  Egyptians  who 
had  enslaved  them,  and  the  barbarians  who  had  harassed  their 
march  in  the  wilderness,  and  the  Canaanites  who  disputed,  with 
force  of  arms,  their  right  to  the  promised  land.  The  Moabites 
also,  and  the  Syrians,  and  the  Assyrians,  and  the  Babylonians, 
and  later  still  the  Romans,  whom  the  Jews  affected  to  despise, 
and  really  hated,  could  prove,  by  Moses,  their  claims  to  a  direct 
descent  fi'om  the  common  ancestor  through  one  or  another  of 
his  three  sons.  No  rebuke  more  stinging  than  this  could  be 
administered  to  the  race-pride  and  superciliousness  of  the  Jews. 

This  table  of  nations  affords  persuasive  proof  of  the  prophetic 
inspiration  of  Noah,  and  casts  light  on  the  plan  of  history 
adopted  by  Moses.  In  the  narrative  immediately  preceding, 
the  sons  of  Noah  are  mentioned  together  four  times,  and  always 
in  this  order  :  Shem,  Ham,  Japheth.     In  the  genealogies  before 


TUE  SPBINGS  OF  ETHNOLOGY.  147 

US,  the  order  is  :  Japlieth,  Ham,  Shem.  But  why  did  Moses 
give  the  first  place  to  Japheth,  and  tlie  hist  to  Shem  ?  The 
answer  is,  that  he  first  disposed  of  the  races  that  branched  off 
from  the  main  line,  and  thus  cleared  the  way  for  an  uninterrupted 
history  of  the  promised  seed.  This  explanation,  so  far  from 
being  fanciful,  is  adopted  by  the  three  diverse  schools  of  criti- 
cism, of  which  Alford,  Ewald,  and  Keil  are  the  representatives. 
Alford  suggests  that  Moses  sought  to  dispose  first  of  Japheth 
and  Ham  in  order  that  the  main  subject,  the  line  of  Shem, 
might  be  free  for  treatment.^  Ewald  says,  that,  "  by  this 
method,"  the  narrative  gains  its  highest  attraction  and  greatest 
breadth.  2  Keil's  words  are  :  "According  to  this  plan,  which  is 
strictly  adhered  to,  the  history  of  Cain  and  his  family  precedes 
that  of  Seth  and  his  posterity ;  the  genealogy  of  Japheth  and 
Ham  stands  before  that  of  Shem ;  the  history  of  Ishmael 
and  Esau  stands  before  that  of  Isaac  and  Jacob  ;  and  the  death 
of  Terah,  before  the  call  and  migration  of  Abraham  to  Canaan.^ 
This  critical  judgment  is  sustained  by  the  consistency  with 
which  this  plan  is  carried  out  in  the  genealogies.  Ham's 
important  position  is  defined  by  the  insertion  of  the  names  of 
the  eleven  sons  of  Canaan,  the  ancestors  of  the  tribes  with 
whom  Abraham  and  his  posterity  were  brought  into  contact. 
The  territory  occupied  by  them  is  also  described  (x.  15-19). 
Particular  attention  is  also  directed  to  Mizraim  and  Nimrod,. 
pointing  to  the  part  afterwards  taken  by  Egypt  and  Babylon  in 
the  history  of  Israel.  In  the  line  of  Shem,  seventeen  descend- 
ants of  Arphaxad  are  named.  One  of  these  was  the  father  of 
the  Hebrews,  another  was  Peleg,  another  was  Joktan,  and  all 
of  them  the  kindred  of  the  chosen  seed.  But  Japheth,  having 
but  little  significance  in  this  part  of  the  history,  is  dismissed 
with  the  simple  mention  of  his  seven  sons  and  seven  of  his 
grandsons.  Ewald  is  fully  sustained  in  his  opinion  that  "  this 
fundamental  arrangement,  consistently  carried  out  in  the  minut- 
est details,  pervades  the  entire  structure  of  tliis  great  work,"  — 
the  Pentateuch.* 

1  Alford:  Genesis,  p.  43.  «  Hist,  of  Israel,  1.  80. 

8  Keil  and  Delitzscli:  Com.  on  Pent.,  1.  37.  *  Hist,  of  Israel,  i.  80. 


148  SACBED  ni STORY. 

Not  less  worthy  of  notice  is  the  intimate  connection  between 
the  Messianic  prophecies  of  Noah,  and  these  genealogies.  Sal- 
vation, said  Noah,  shall  come  to  the  race  through  the  family 
of  Shem :  accordingly  the  register  preserves  the  names  of  four 
successive  generations  proceeding  from  him,  Arphaxad,  Selah, 
Eber,  and  Peleg ;  the  four  pointing  towards  Abraham,  the  tenth 
from  Shem,  in  whose  family  the  kingdom  was  established. 
Japheth,  Noah  had  said,  shall  find  salvation  in  the  tents  of 
Shem  :  accordingly  his  pedigree  is  preserved  here.  Noah  made 
no  similar  promise  to  Ham.  But  Moses  records  the  names  of 
as  many  as  thirteen  of  the  peoples  descending  from  Ham,  in 
token  that  the  doors  of  the  kingdom  will  in  due  time  be  opened 
to  him,  as  well  as  to  his  two  more  favored  brothers ;  and  that 
not  one  of  them  has  been  forgotten  in  the  counsels  of  Infinite 
Love.i 

The  chart  resembles  a  missionary  map  of  our  own  day, 
wherein  the  heathen  nations,  to  which  the  gospel  is  to  be 
preached,  are  carefully  laid  down,  one  by  one,  each  in  its  proper 
place.  It  would  seem  that  Moses,  in  the  preparation  of  these 
genealogies,  bore  in  mind  the  promise  in  the  first  gospel,  in 
regard  to  the  seed  of  the  woman,  and  that  he  anticipated, 
prophetically,  the  larger  promise  reserved  for  Abraham,  that  in 
him  and  in  his  seed  all  nations  should  be  blessed.  The  section 
affords,  therefore,  an  appropriate  introduction  to  the  history  of 
Abraham,  by  defining  not  only  the  genealogical  position  of  his 
posterity  among  the  nations,  but  their  geographical  relation  to 
them  all. 

We  are  indebted  to  Dr.  Robert  S.  Candlish  for  a  suggestion 
that  leads  to  a  clear  understanding  of  the  geography  of  the 
tenth  chapter.  Let  two  lines  be  drawn  on  the  map  from  west 
to  east ;  the  one  from  the  southern,  the  other  from  the  northern, 
border  of  Palestine.  The  territory  between  these  two  parallels 
was  the  portion  of  Shem.  Ham  took  his  inheritance  below 
Shem's  southern  line  :  Japheth  made  his  home  north  of  Shem's 
upper  line.2  Japheth,  however,  in  course  of  time,  encroached 
on  the  possession  of  Ham  in  Southern  Arabia ;  and  Ham,  repre- 
1  Eawlinson :  Origin  of  Nations,  lfi7.  »  Discourses  on  Genesis,  1. 176. 


GEOGRAPHY  LINKED    WITH  PROPUECY.  149 

sented  by  Nimrod  and  by  Canaan,  trespassed  on  the  inheritance 
of  Shem.  This  general  allotment  gave  effect  to  the  prophecies 
of  Noah.  Shem  became  the  recipient  of  Divine  revelation,  and 
in  due  time  the  channel  from  which  salvation  flowed  to  the 
posterity  of  Japheth  and  Ham.  His  geographical  position, 
between  his  brothers,  was  a  vantage-ground  correspondhig  to 
the  sacred  duties  which  awaited  him.  Shem  gave  origin  to  the 
fixed  and  stable  element  of  history.  From  Japheth  proceeded 
the  Caucasians,  and  from  Ham  the  negroes.  Japheth  secured 
the  temperate  zone,  with  its  invigorating  climate;  Ham  was 
doomed  to  the  hot  regions,  preparing  him  for  his  destiny  as  a 
servile  race ;  and  Shem  took  root  in  the  intermediate  country, 
drawing  to  himself  vigor  from  the  northern  sides,  and  a  touch 
of  stagnation  from  the  southern.  The  Armenians  have  a  saying 
to  the  effect  that  Ham  received  the  region  of  the  blacks,  Shem 
the  region  of  the  tawny,  and  Japheth  the  region  of  the  ruddy.^ 

An  easy  lesson,  showing  the  inspiration  of  Noah,  lies  before 
us  just  here.  He  foretold  the  destiny  which  awaited  the  pos- 
terity of  his  three  sons.  Japheth  should  dominate  the  planet ; 
Shem  should  receive,  and  in  due  time  send  everywhere  abroad, 
the  salvation  of  God  :  Ham  should  serve  his  brethren.  But  these 
destinies  were  all  bound  up  with  their  future  homes  on  the 
surface  of  the  earth.  Let  it  be  imagined  that  Japheth  and 
Ham  had  missed  their  way,  Japheth  going  to  the  torrid  zone, 
and  Ham  to  the  northern  temperate  latitudes ;  and  then  let  us 
imagine  the  confusion  which  this  misplacement  would  have 
introduced  into  Noah's  scheme  of  prophecy.  Now,  it  is  a  fair 
question:  Was  it  "good  guessing,"  or  Divine  inspiration, 
whereby  Noah  not  only  foresaw  the  part  assigned  to  each  in 
the  coming  ages,  but  whereby  he  ascertained,  also,  that  each  of 
them  would  settle  in  the  precise  zone  and  latitude  which  were 
adapted  to  his  peculiar  destiny  ? 

Biblical  scholars  have  pointed  out,  with  a  certain  degree  of 
accuracy,  the  regions  to  which  the  various  families  emigrated 
immediately  after  their  dispersion  from  the  Tower  of  Babel.  It 
should  be  borne  in  mind,  that  the  names  in  the  record  stand, 

1  Blakie:  Bib.  Hist..  34. 


150  S ACRED  IIISTORT. 

for  the  most  part,  not  for  individuals,  but  for  races  or  countries ; 
as  Ashur  for  Assyria,  Elam  for  Persia,  Madai  for  Media,  Lud  for 
Lydia,  Aram  for  Syria,  Cush  for  Ethiopia,  and  Mizraim  (in  the 
Hebrew  dual  number)  for  Egypt,  Upper  and  Lower.  It  should 
also  be  remembered  that  the  primeval  homes  of  the  nations 
were  held  within  narrow  boundaries.  None  of  the  peoples 
appear  to  have  pushed  their  migrations  beyond  the  farther 
shores  of  the  Euxine  on  the  north,  the  Caspian  towards  the 
east,  the  straits  of  Babelmandeb  and  Upper  Egypt  southwardly, 
and  Greece  westwardly.  Or,  more  tersely,  they  contented 
themselves  with  Eastern  Europe,  Hither  Asia,  and  Northern 
Africa.  From  thence,  in  after  ages,  they  overspread  the  earth, 
like  the  sea  with  its  shores  taken  away.  While  we  are  able  to 
determine  beyond  a  reasonable  doubt  the  homes  of  the  earlier 
generations,  we  can  follow  a  few  of  them  only  in  their  migra- 
tions during  the  four  thousand  years  which  have  elapsed  since 
the  disjDcrsion ;  we  can  identify  only  a  portion  of  them  with  the 
races  now  in  existence.  The  progress  of  archaeology  has  solved 
some  of  these  problems,  and  gives  promise  of  further  discoveries. 
It  may  be  safely  predicted  that  these  discoveries  will  be  consist- 
ent with  the  Mosaic  narrative.  A  minute  examination  of  the 
register  is  not  called  for  by  the  nature  of  these  inquiries. 
Nothing  need  be  considered  here  beyond  what  seems  to  be 
established  respecting  the  peoples  who  are  factors  in  Old-Testa- 
ment history. 

1.  The  sons  of  Japheth  were  Gomer,  Magog,  Madai,  Javan, 
Tubal,  Meshech,  and  Tiras.  Gomer  has  been  identified  with 
the  Celts,  Madai  with  the  Medes,  and  Javan  with  the  Greeks. 
Magog  may  stand,  though  not  without  some  doubt,  for  the 
European  Scythians,  or  the  Slavonic  races,  of  which  the  Rus- 
sians are  the  modern  representatives.  Tiras  was  probably  the 
ancestor  of  the  vast  hordes  of  the  Thracians.  The  names  of 
Tubal  and  Meshech  have  perished  with  the  insignificant  tribes 
which  proceeded  from  them.  Three  sons  of  Gomer,  and  four 
sons  of  Javan,  are  mentioned.  Of  these,  Ashkenaz  of  Gomer 
is  most  prominent ;  he  is  commonly  believed  to  be  the  ancestor 
of  the  Germanic  races,  and  through  them  of  the  Anglo-Saxons ; 


VALUE  OF  THE  GENEALOGIES.  151 

though  Mr.  George  Rawlinson  confers  this  distinction  on  Tiras 
through  the  Thracians.^  The  original  home  of  the  Japhetic 
races  was  the  region  around  the  Bhick  Sea,  and  south  of  the 
Caspian.  Ethnology,  "following  a  strictly  inductive  method, 
and  wholly  freed  from  all  shackles  of  authority,"  confirms 
what  Moses  says  of  the  common  origin  of  the  races  above 
named.  Mr.  Rawlinson  styles  Professor  Max  Muller  "the 
greatest  of  modern  ethnologists,"  and  quotes  from  him  these 
words :  "  Tkere  was  a  time  when  the  ancestors  of  the  Celt,  the 
Germans,  the  Slaves,  the  Greeks  and  Italians,  the  Persians  and 
Hindoos,  were  living  together  beneath  the  same  roof,  separate 
from  the  Semitic  and  Turanian  races."  And  again,  "  There  is 
not  an  English  jury  nowadays,  which,  after  examining  the 
hoary  documents  of  language,  would  reject  the  claim  of  a 
common  descent,  and  a  legitimate  relationship  between  the 
Hindoo,  Greek,  and  Teuton."  ^  Moses,  so  Rawlinson  avers, 
"anticipated  the  discovery"  (of  modern  ethnology)  "by  a 
space  of  above  three  thousand  years."  ^ 

2.  Ham's  sons  were  Cush,  Mizraim,  Phut,  and  Canaan.  The 
spirit  of  prophecy,  which  guided  Noah  in  forecasting  the  future 
of  his  three  sons,  evidently  made  known  Ham's  pedigree  to 
Moses.  Phut  represents  the  Nubians ;  but  the  inspired  gene- 
alogist, foreseeing  that  the  Nubians  would  rarely  intersect  the 
career  of  the  promised  seed,  passed  by  every  one  of  Phut's 
descendants.  Cush  receives  a  different  treatment.  He  stands 
here  for  fifteen  races  ;  among  them  are  the  Assyrians  and  Baby- 
lonians, nations  which  were  to  be  perpetual  and  implacable 
enemies  of  Israel.  Assyria  was  fore-ordained  to  carry  the  ten 
tribes,  and  Babylon  was  fore-ordained  to  carry  Judah,  into 
captivity.  As  a  part  of  this  history,  Nimrod  is  lifted  out  of 
the  oblivion  in  which  the  names  of  the  early  monarchs  of  these 
kingdoms  are  buried  without  hope  of  resurrection ;  for  Nimrod 
was  not  only  the  Samson  and  Hercules  of  his  race,  valiant  in 
war,  intrepid  in  the  chase,  but  he  was  the  founder  of  five  great 
cities  in  the  plain  of  Shinar,  Nineveh  and  Babylon  being  two  of 
them.  Mizraim  represents  the  two  Egypts,  the  Upper  and  the 
1  Origin  of  Nations,  177.  2  ibij.^  175.  3  Ibid.,  178. 


152  SACRED  HISTORY. 

Lower.  Egypt  became  in  clue  time  the  house  of  bondage  for 
the  people  of  God,  and  was  entitled  to  a  place  in  this  table, 
attended  by  the  group  of  seven  nations.  Canaan  was  the 
youngest  son  of  Ham.  The  names  of  thirteen  tribes  descend- 
ing from  Canaan  are  given,  one  by  one.  Nor  is  Moses  content 
with  that.  He  departs  from  the  usual  form  of  genealogical 
tables  by  inserting,  with  the  names  of  the  pioneers  of  the  prom- 
ised land,  the  boundaries  of  their  original  settlement :  "  The 
border  of  the  Canaanites  was  from  Sidon,  as  thou  comest  to 
Gerar,  unto  Gaza ;  as  thou  goest  unto  Sodom,  and  Gomorrah, 
and  Admah,  and  Zeboim,  even  unto  Laslia "  (x.  19^.  This 
feature  contributes  to  the  sufficiency  and  completeness  of  the 
genealogy  witliout  disturbing  its  harmony. 

3.  Shem's  genealogy  begins  thus :  "  Unto  Shem,  also,  the 
father  of  all  the  children  of  Eber,  the  brother  of  Japheth  the 
elder,  even  to  him  were  children  born.  The  children  of  Shem : 
Elam,  and  Asshur,  and  Arphaxad,  and  Lud,  and  Aram."  The 
characteristics  of  the  table  are  prominent  and  significant.  It 
opens  with  the  assertion  that  Shem,  the  younger  brother,  not 
Japheth  the  elder,  was  the  father  of  Eber,  —  that  is  to  say,  of  the 
Hebrews.  The  compiler  emphasizes  this  pre-eminence  by  tra- 
cing Shem's  line  down  to  the  sixth  generation,  having  just  before 
disposed  of  Japheth's  with  his  grandsons,  and  Ham's  with  his 
great-grandsons.  Moses  goes. much  farther  in  the  same  direc- 
tion. Shem  had  five  sons.  Four  of  them  are  dismissed  with 
the  fewest  number  of  words.  Aram's  four  sons  are  named 
with  the  purpose,  apparently,  of  calling  attention  to  one  of 
them,  Ur,  the  ancestor  of  Job.  Lud  stands  for  Lydia,  Asshur 
for  Assyria,  and  Elam  for  Persia.  Lydia  rarely  intersected  the 
career  of  the  future  Israel ;  but  both  Assyria  and  Persia  figure 
most  conspicuously  in  the  later  histor}^  of  the  Jewish  common- 
wealth, as  it  is  written  at  large  in  the  books  of  Daniel,  Esther, 
and  the  minor  prophets.  But  the  inspired  genealogist  turns 
suddenly  away  from  Asshur  and  Elam,  as  if  to  clear  the 
channel  for  the  stream  of  history  flowing  from  Shem's  third 
son,  Arphaxad.  This  is  explained  when  we  read  that  Arphaxad 
was  the  ancestor  of  Abraham  ;  accordingly  nine-tenths  of  the 


INSPIF.ATION   OF  THE   GENEALOGIES.  153 

table  are  given  to  him.  In  the  two  sons  of  Eber  the  family 
was  divided,  one  line  proceeding  through  Peleg  to  Abraham  ; 
the  other  proceeding  through  Joktan,  Peleg's  brother,  to  the 
thirteen  tribes  of  barbarians  who  settled  Central  and  Southern 
Arabia.  The  Hebrews  set  great  store  by  this  genealogy.  But 
it  confronted  them  with  the  fact  that  through  Eber,  from  whom 
they  took  their  proud  patronymic,  they  were  kith  and  kin  with 
the  Arabs.  "  These,"  said  Moses,  "  are  the  sons  of  Shem,  after 
their  families,  after  their  tongues,  in  their  lands,  after  their 
nations." 

The  Jews  maintain,  as  an  article  of  faith,  that  the  whole  of 
the  tenth  chapter  of  Genesis  is  as  fully  and  directly  inspired  as 
are  the  words,  "  I  am  the  Lord  your  God."  ^  The  Christian 
need  not  hesitate  to  subscribe  that  article.  It  does  not  profess 
to  embrace  all  the  peoples  in  existence  at  the  time.  But  it  is 
complete  and  sufficient  to  the  end  for  which  it  was  compiled ; 
it  is  a  commentary  on  Noah's  Messianic  prophecy,  and  a  preface 
to  the  history  of  Abraham.  Its  omissions  are  as  essential  to  its 
proper  uses  as  its  contents.  More  than  that,  every  word  of  it 
is  true.  No  contradiction  between  its  details  and  the  findings 
of  sound  ethnological  science  has  been  discovered.  It  is  en- 
titled to  carry  on  its  face,  not  the  caveat,  "  errors  excepted," 
but  the  challenge,  "  errors  nowhere."  In  the  words  of  one  of 
the  masters  of  archaeology,  we  may  say,  "  The  record  rightly 
interpreted  completely  harmonizes  with  the  science ;  and  not 
only  so,  but  even  anticipates  many  of  the  most  curious  and 
remarkable  of  the  discoveries  which  ethnology  has  made  in 
comparatively  recent  times.  .  .  .  The  Christian  may,  with  con- 
fidence, defy  his  adversaries  to  point  out  any  erroneous,  or  even 
any  improbable,  statements  in  the  entire  chapter,  from  its  com- 
mencement to  its  close.  The  thorough  harmony  which  exists 
between  ethnological  science  and  this  unique  record  is  a  strong 
argument  for  the  truth  of  both."  ^  And  so  we  are  brought 
back  to  the  several  theses  so  often  recurring ;  theses  affirming 
the  unity  of  the  human  race,  the  prophetic  and  historical  inspi- 

1  Geikie  :  Hours,  etc.,  1.  206. 

2  George  Kawliuson:  Origin  of  Nations,  p.  253. 


154  SACRED  HISTORY, 

ration  of  Noah  and  of  Moses,  the  vitality,  everywhere,  of  the 
chosen  seed,  and  the  persistency  with  which  the  sacred  writers 
adhere  to  the  pre-arranged  plan  of  the  narrative. 

Glancing  back  along  the  line  of  the  last  three  chaj^ters,  and 
considering  the  men  whose  characteristics  and  careers  have 
come  under  our  notice,  —  such  men  as  the  inventive  and  enter- 
prising sons  of  Lamech,  in  the  family  of  Cain,  and  as  Enoch  and 
Noah  in  the  line  of  Seth  —  and,  with  the  glimpse  we  have  just 
now  had,  in  the  concurrent  light  of  prophecy  and  history,  of 
the  vigorous  and  brilliant  peoples  immediately  descended  from 
Noah's  sons;  we  are  freshly  impressed  with  the  confidence  that 
man  did  not  begin  his  career  in  a  condition  of  physical  and 
psychological  immaturity  and  feebleness.  He  did  not  emerge 
into  his  human  estate  just  a  hair's-breadth  above  the  brute 
estate ;  but,  rather,  he  "  was  made  a  little  lower  than  the  angels, 
crowned  with  glory  and  honor,  and  all  things  put  under  his 
feet."  How  honoring  to  God  and  his  Word  is  the  declaration 
that  "  the  primitive  man  was  a  splendid  being,  —  not  scientific, 
nor  civilized,  in  the  modern  sense  of  the  words,  but  possess- 
ing great  power,  both  of  body  and  soul.  These  early  men  had 
great  aims,  they  attempted  great  things,  a]id  they  accomplished 
great  things." 

We  have  only  to  take  this  view,  and  we  shall  go  forward  with 
the  greater  interest  to  study  the  history  of  the  redemption  of 
this  once  lordly  race,  and  more  immediately  to  consider  the 
ambitious  but  unhallowed  and  disastrous  endeavors  of  the  race 
which  constitute  the  subject  of  the  next  chapter. 


THE  PLAIN  OF  SUINAR.  155 


CHAPTER    XI. 

BABEL.  • 

Gen.  xi.  —  According  to  the  rules  of  historical  composition, 
Moses  was  at  liberty  to  record,  first,  the  dispersion  of  mankind, 
and  then  its  procuring  cause  in  the  confusion  of  tongues  ;  or 
he  might,  at  his  discretion,  reverse  that  order  in  his  narrative. 
He  chose  to  give  the  first  place  to  the  dispersion  in  the  tenth 
chapter,  and  to  reserve  the  explanation  for  the  eleventh  chapter. 
But  at  the  close  of  each  of  the  three  genealogies  in  chap,  x., 
Moses  is  careful  to  say,  that,  when  the  sons  of  Noah  were 
scattered  abroad,  they  were  controlled  in  their  removals  and 
places  of  settlement  by  what  was  peculiar  in  their  tongues, 
families,  and  nations.  This  remark  prepares  the  way  for  the 
extraordinary  events  which  took  place  on  the  jjlain  of  Shinar. 

The  historian  begins  with  the  remark  that  all  mankind  were 
of  one  language  and  one  speech  ;  more  literally,  of  "  one  lip 
and  word."  By  the  "  lip  "  is  meant  the  brogue  or  pronunciation, 
including  the  vocal  inflections  ;  by  the  "  word  "  is  meant  the 
vocabulary.  All  the  living  had  one  word  for  each  idea,  and 
one  way  of  pronouncing  that  word.  They  were  one  in  speech, 
just  as  they  were  one  in  origin  from  Noah.  Their  primal 
dwelling-place  was  among  the  head  waters  of  the  Euphrates, 
in  the  mountains  of  Armenia.  Here  they  rapidly  multii)lied. 
Impelled  by  the  propensity  for  emigration,  which  is  an  element 
in  human  nature,  the  sons  of  Noah  removed,  by  slow  stages, 
toward  the  south-east,  along  the  banks  of  "  the  great  river,"  until 
they  came  to  a  region  between  the  Euphrates  and  the  Tigris,  in 
later  times  called  the  land  of  Shinar.  Here  they  found  a  plain, 
"  and  dwelt  there."     In  striking  contrast  with  the  higlilands  of 


156  '  SACEED  HISTORY. 

Armenia,  the  climate  was  soft  and  genial ;  and  the  soil,  if  we 
may  believe  Hippocrates  and  Herodotus,  was  capable  of  yield- 
ing from  two  to  three  hundred-fold.  In  after  ages,  this  region 
became  the  home  of  sensual  life  and  unclean  worship,  the  site 
of  the  palaces  of  Semiramis  and  of  the  city  of  Babylon.  Here 
the  sons  of  Noah  began  to  prepare  for  themselves  a  permanent 
dwelling-place.  The  native  clays  furnished  them  with  the  very 
best  material  for  bricks  and  slabs.  Bitumen  for  cement  came 
floating  on  the  surface  of  the  river  Is,  from  inexhaustible  springs 
on  its  upper  waters.  Babylon  was  afterwards  built  out  of  these 
substances.  Layard  says  that  the  bitumen,  by  which  the  bricks 
are  held  together,  is  so  tenacious  that  it  is  almost  impossible  to 
detach  one  of  them,  entire,  from  the  mass. 

With  these  facilities,  the  emigrants  said,  "  Go  to,  let  us  build 
a  city,  and  a  tower  whose  top  may  reach  unto  heaven,  and 
let  us  make  us  a  name,  lest  we  be  scattered  abroad  upon  the 
face  of  the  whole  earth."  This  language  betrays  the  existence 
of  a  conspiracy  for  the  purpose  of  founding  an  empire  which 
should  be  universal,  embracing  the  entire  race,  and  should 
become  godless  by  renouncing  Jehovah,  by  setting  up  idolatry, 
and  establishing  a  splendid  but  corrupt  form  of  material  civili- 
zation. The  race  had  once  more  departed  from  God.  Biblical 
scholars  have  characterized  the  degeneracy  as  the  postdiluvian 
apostasy,  and  the  birth  of  heathenism. 

The  record  does  not  designate  eitlier  the  leading  spirit  in  the 
conspiracy,  or  its  place  in  the  chronology.  In  the  popular 
treatment  of  the  subject,  it  is  frequently  assumed  that  Nimrod 
was  the  prime  mover.  A  certain  prodigious  force  of  character 
is  ascribed  to  him  ;  and  in  x.  10,  it  is  said  that  Babel  or  Babylon 
was  one  of  the  four  cities  founded  by  him  in  that  region.  But 
his  "  might  in  the  earth,"  and  "  his  might  as  a  hunter  before 
the  Lord,"  whatever  these  phrases  may  mean,  do  not  prove  that 
he  was  one  of  the  tower-builders.  He  appears  to  have  flourished 
long  after  the  confusion  of  tongues  ;  for  he  not  only  founded 
four  cities  in  the  land  of  Shinar,  one  of  them  being  Babylon, 
but,  according  to  the  Revised  Version,  he  extended  his  empire 
northward  as  far  as  Ashur  or  Assyria,  where  he  established  a 


PURPOSE  OF  THE   TOWER-BUILDERS.  157 

second  group  of  four  capitals,  Nineveh  being  one  of  the  four 
(Gen.  X.  9-13).  The  buikling  of  the  tower  must  have  antedated 
these  enterprises  by  many  years  ;  and,  having  been  projected 
by  the  first  settlers  in  Shinar,  Nimrod  could  hardly  have  been 
among  them. 

In  the  days  of  Peleg,  "  the  earth  was  divided."  This  state- 
ment has  been  thought  to  establish  the  date  of  the  building  of 
the  tower.  Peleg  was  born  about  one  hundred  years  after  the 
Flood.  It  is  conjectured  that  Shinar  was  settled  about  that 
time,  when,  according  to  a  moderate  calculation,  there  were 
about  thirty  thousand  people  in  the  world.  These  circum- 
stances point  to  Peleg's  day  as  the  date  of  the  confusion.  But 
it  is  a  matter  of  doubt  whether  this  division  of  the  earth  here 
mentioned  refers  to  the  confusion  of  tong'ues,  or  to  the  final 
separation  of  Eber,  the  forefather  of  the  Hebrews,  from  his 
brother  Joktan  and  the  thirteen  tribes  descending  from  him, 
Eber  remaining  in  Mesopotamia,  and  Joktan  removing  to 
Southern  Arabia.  This  doubt  unsettles  the  date,  but  the  point 
is  not  of  sufficient  importance  to  detain  us  longer  from  the 
course  of  the  narrative. 

The  avowed  purposes  of  the  tower-builders  were  altogether 
impious.  God  was  engaged  in  establishing  his  kingdom  in  the 
family  of  Shem,  which  he  had  chosen  to  represent  the  seed  of 
the  woman.  But  Shem  united  with  his  brothers  in  attempting 
to  set  up  a  world-kingdom,  in  opposition  to  the  Divine  purpose, 
betraying  his  affiliation  with  the  seed  of  the  serpent.  There  is 
no  evidence  that  they  built  the  tower  as  a  place  of  refuge  from 
a  second  general  deluge,  or  as  a  fortress,  or  as  a  landmark  which 
should  be  visible  from  afar.  They  assigned  two  reasons  for 
what  they  were  doing  :  First,  they  proposed  to  make  themselves 
famous.  An  apt  illustration  of  their  impious  pride  was  fur- 
nished near  this  very  spot,  about  seventeen  hundred  years 
afterwards,  when  Nebuchadnezzar  surveyed,  from  the  roof  of 
his  palace,  the  vast  extent  and  superb  embellishments  of  Baby- 
lon. As  he  "  walked  "  with  his  Oriental  strut,  he  exclaimed, 
"Is  not  this  great  Babylon  that  I  have  built  for  tlie  house  of 
the  kingdom  by  the  might  of  my  power,  and  for  the  honor  of  my 


158  SACRED  EISTOEY. 

majesty  ?  "  (Dan.  iv.  30.)  His  boast  answered  back  significantly 
to  the  fatal  passion  for  glory  which  swelled  the  hearts  of  the 
tower-builders.  Next,  they  built  the  tower,  "  lest  they  should 
be  scattered  abroad  upon  the  face  of  the  whole  earth."  Now, 
on  the  day  in  which  God  made  man  in  his  image,  and  after- 
wards on  the  day  in  which  he  brought  Noah  and  his  sons  out  of 
the  ark,  he  blessed  them,  and  conveyed  to  them  the  inheritance 
of  the  whole  earth,  saying,  "  Be  fruitful,  and  multiply,  and 
replenish  the  earth."  In  order  to  secure  the  actual  occupation 
of  the  entire  planet  by  the  race,  he  put  in  its  bosom  a  centrifu- 
gal force,  the  passion  for  emigration,  a  passion  and  force  which 
have  not  been  satiated  or  exhausted  to  this  day.  And  with 
this  propensity,  he  gave  to  man  a  phj'sical  constitution  capable 
of  supporting  the  extremes  of  heat  and  cold,  so  that,  unlike  all 
other  living  creatures,  he  is  at  home  in  every  climate,  —  cosmo- 
politan by  nature,  not  provincial.  But  the  tower-builders  set 
themselves  to  defeat  both  the  natural  instincts  of  the  human 
race,  and  the  ordinance  of  God.  They  were  resolved  on  main- 
taining a  unity,  —  7iot  the  unity  of  one  God  and  of  one  Divine 
worship.  That,  as  Delitzsch  observes,  they  had  lost.  They. 
sought  to  reach  an  ungodly  unity  through  self-invented,  out- 
ward, sensual  means.  In  its  essence,  therefore,  the  building  of 
the  tower  was  a  Titanic,  ungodly  enterprise. 

It  has  been  suggested,  although  without  sufficient  evidence, 
that  the  tower  was  intended  to  be  used  for  idolatrous  worship. 
Heathenism,  it  is  said,  came  to  its  birth  on  the  plain  of  Sliinar. 
Shortly  after  the  dispersion,  the  worship  of  the  heavenly  bodies 
seems  to  have  become  universal.  Now,  it  is  more  probable 
(such  is  the  argument),  that  the  scattered  tribes  carried  away 
with  them  the  first  lessons  of  idolatry,  than  that  the  lessons 
were  learned  simultaneously,  among  peoples  widely  separated 
by  distant  regions  and  discordant  tongues.  Moreover,  the  vast 
pyramids  built  afterwards  in  Shinar  by  the  famous  Urukh  were 
unquestionably  heathen  temples.  Altars  were  set  up  on  their 
summits ;  and  sacrifices  were  offered  upon  them  to  the  heavenly 
bodies,  and  to  Sardi  the  king  of  the  gods.  That  Birs  Nimru 
was  intended  for  such  worship,  is  indicated  by  the  tablets  found 


PHILOLOGICAL  INQUIRIES.  159 

in  its  ruins.  But  these  colossal  piles  were  built  long  after  the 
dispersion  of  mankind,  and  there  is  nothing  in  the  sacred  record 
to  show  that  the  Almighty  withheld  the  fatal  blow  until  the 
tower-builders  had  gone  so  far  in  their  conspiracy  as  to  agree 
on  the  dedication  of  the  work  of  their  hands  to  false  worship. 

Of  this  part  of  sacred  history  the  most  prominent  feature  is 
the  confusion  of  tongues.  The  two  particulars  which  demand 
attention  are,  the  unity  of  language  spoken  by  the  human  race 
when  they  began  to  build  the  tower ;  and  the  Divine  inter- 
position by  which  this  unity  was  disrupted,  and  in  consequence 
of  which  the  people  abandoned  the  enterprise,  and  Avere  scat- 
tered abroad.  Upon  the  first  of  these  inquiries  Moses  is  very 
explicit,  and  the  new  science  of  comparative  philology  has 
something  to  say  about  it. 

In  the  tenth  chapter  of  Genesis,  Moses  shows  that  all  man- 
kind descended  from  one  man,  —  Noah  ;  and  it  goes  without  his 
so  saying,  that  the  original  unity  of  speech  is  a  necessary  con- 
clusion from  the  unity  of  the  race  in  origin.  Moses,  however, 
instead  of  leaving  the  question  to  be  answered  inferentially, 
declares  that,  at  the  time  of  the  settlement  of  Shinar,  the 
"  whole  earth  "  had  one  stock  of  words  and  one  pronunciation. 
Such  is  the  statement  for  which  Divine  inspiration  makes  itself 
responsible.  The  philologists  approach  the  subject  by  setting 
out,  in  various  forms,  a  scientific  classification  of  the  languages, 
both  the  dead  and  the  living.  One  of  these  systems,  called 
the  ethnic,  follows  the  division  of  the  race  proceeding  from  the 
three  sons  of  Noah.  The  Japhetic,  Semitic,  and  Hamitic  groups 
of  tongues  are  called,  severally,  the  Aryan  or  Indo-European, 
the  Semitic,  and  the  Turanian.  The  proper  allowance  is  made, 
also,  for  a  few  unimportant  exceptions. 

In  examining  the  Aryan  group,  attention  is  called  to  a 
brilliant  discovery  of  modern  times,  showing  that  the  Sanskrit, 
though  long  since  dead,  was  the  mother-tongue  of  the  Hindoos, 
the  Persians,  the  Armenians,  and  of  all  the  European  peoples ; 
among  them  the  Greek,  Latin,  Russian,  Saxon,  Celtic,  and  Ice- 
landic families.  From  this  circumstance,  the  Sanskrit  and  its 
offspring  take  the   name   of  Indo-European.     The   authorities 


160  SACRED  HISTORY. 

maintain  with  one  consent,  and  without  hesitation,  that  all 
these  languages  were  derived  from  one  common  source,  on  the 
banks  of  the  Ganges.  Moreover,  these  scholars  not  only  hold 
to  this  linguistic  unity  as  an  established  fact;  but  they  go 
farther,  and  rely  upon  it  to  establish,  as  another  fact,  the  unity 
in  origin  of  all  these  Asiatic  and  European  races.  Bunsen 
says,  "As  far  as  the  organic  languages  of  Asia  and  Europe  are 
concerned,  the  human  race  is  of  one  kindred  and  one  descent." 
"Our. historical  researches  respecting  language  have  led  us  to 
facts  which  seem  to  oblige  us  to  assuiue  the  common  historical 
origin  of  the  great  families,  into  which  we  found  the  nations 
of  Asia  an'd  Europe  to  coalesce."  "The  Asiatic  origin  of  all 
these  [American]  tribes  is  as  fully  proved  as  the  unity  of 
family  among  themselves."  ^  Canon  Farrar  writes :  "  When 
once  a  few  scholars  had  profoundly  studied  it "  (the  Sanskrit), 
"  and  had  published  their  results  to  the  world ;  when  such  a 
book  as  Bopp's  Comparative  Grammar  had  placed  side  by  side 
the  facts  of  nine  such  languages  as  Sanskrit,  Zend,  Armenian, 
Greek,  Latin,  Lithuanian,  Slavonian,  Gothic,  and  German ; 
and  when  Pritchard,  Zeuss,  Diefenbach,  and  others  had  pub- 
lished their  Celtic  labors,  —  it  could  no  longer  remain  doubtful 
to  any  reasonable  man,  that  the  stately  Brahmin,  and  the  gay 
Frenchman,  and  the  restless  Albanian,  and  the  L'ish  peasant, 
and  the  Russian  serf,  and  the  Lithuanian  farmer,  and  the 
English  gentleman,  and  the  Dutch  boor;  nay,  even  the  poor 
outcast  wandering  gypsy,  —  all  sj^eak  languages  which  were 
once  a  single,  undivided  form  of  human  speech,  and  are  all 
sprung  from  ancestors  who  radiated  from  one  geographical 
centre,  which  was  their  common  home."  ^ 

Evidence  of  the  identity  of  languages  is  derived  from  the 
identity  of  their  roots,  and  from  their  grammatical  structure. 
As  an  example  of  the  selection  in  the  Aryan  tongues  of  the 
same  word  to  represent  the  same  object,  we  find  that  Jiouse  is,  in 
Sanskrit,  dama  and  dam;  in  Zend,  de  mana ;  in  Greek,  domos ; 
in  Latin,  domus  ;  in  Irish,  dahm  ;  in  Slavonic,  domu  ;  in  English 

1  Phil,  of  Univ.  Hist.,  vol.  ii.  pp.  4,  79,  112. 

2  Dr.  r.  W.  Farrar:  Families  of  Speecb,  p.  58. 


ARYAN  AND   SEMITIC  TONGUES.  161 

we  say  domestic.  As  another  example :  boat  was,  in  Sanskrit, 
nau  or  nauka ;  in  Persian,  naio.,  nawali ;  in  Greek,  naus ;  in 
Latin,  navis  ;  in  old  Irish,  noi ;  in  old  German,  7iawa  or  naivi ; 
and  in  Polish,  naiva  ;  and  in  English  we  have  nautical  and  navi- 
gation?- Similar  examples  might  be  multiplied  almost  indefi- 
nitely. In  the  language  of  Canon  Farrar,  "The  numerals,  the 
pronouns,  the  most  ordinary  and  essential  verbs,  the  words  for 
all  the  common  relationships,  for  the  parts  of  the  body,  for  all 
the  domestic  animals,  for  the  most  necessary  cereals,  and  the 
most  familiar  metals,  are  substantially  the  same  in  all  the  lan- 
guages of  this  great  Aryan  family."  ^  The  case  seems  to  be 
fully  made  out.  One  might  well  support  Professor  Max  Miiller 
in  his  militant  position :  "  The  terms  for  God,  for  house,  for 
father,  mother,  son,  daughter,  for  dog  and  cow,  for  hearts  and 
tears,  for  axe  and  tree,  identical  in  all  Indo-European  idioms, 
are  like  the  watchwords  of  an  army.  We  challenge  the  seeming 
stranger ;  and  whether  he  answer  with  the  lip  of  a  Greek,  or 
German,  or  an  Indian,  we  recognize  him  as  one.  of  ourselves. 
Though  the  historian  may  shake  his  head,  though  the  i^hysi- 
ologist  may  doubt,  and  the  poet  scorn  the  idea,  all  must  yield 
before  the  facts  furnished  by  language."  ^ 

The  Semitic  tongues  are  less  numerous,  less  diverse,  less 
dissonant.  They  are  in  the  possession  of  a  people  who,  in 
numbers,  as  compared  with  the  Aryan,  are  as,  say,  forty  million 
to  four  hundred  million  souls.  The  philologists  divide  the 
Semitic  tongue  into  three  branches,  —  the  Hebrew,  with  its 
idioms,  the  Samaritan,  Phoenician  and  Carthaginian ;  the 
Arabic,  with  the  Maltese  and  other  dialects ;  and  the  Aramaic, 
including  the  old  Syriac,  the  new  Syriac,  the  speech  of  the 
Druses,  and  the  cuneiform  inscriptions  of  the  Assyrians  and 
Babylonians.  Philology  does  not  appear  to  be  prepared  with 
any  judgment  in  regard  to  these  races,  except  the  four  which 
are  most  prominent,  —  the  Hebrews,  the  Syrians,  the  Assyrians, 
and  the  Arabians.  That  these  four  are  brethren  of  the  Semitic 
family,  and  of  cognate  tongues,  is  a  fact  established  by  the 

1  Clarke:  Ten  Religions.  2  Families  of  Speech. 

8  Languages  of  Seat  of  the  "War. 


162"  SACRED  HISTOBY. 

word  of  God,  and  the  findings  of  linguistic  science.  Professor 
Max  Miiller  "regards  the  close  connection  of  the  Syriac  and 
Hebrew  languages  as  so  patent  and  so  universally  acknowledged 
a  fact,  that  argument  on  the  subject  is  superfluous."  Rawlinson 
adds,  "This  indeed  has  been  allowed  for  many  centuries, 'ever 
since  Hebrew  and  Syriac  first  became  objects  of  study  to  Occi- 
dentals." ^  The  resemblances  between  the  Assyrian  and  the 
Hebrew  and  Syriac  have  been  more  recently  discovered. 
According  to  Miiller,  "  The  conclusion  which  linguistic  scholars 
have  universally  drawn  from  the  careful  study  and  analysis  of 
the  ancient  form  of  speech  is,  that  the  language  is  Semitic, 
nearly  akin  to  both  Hebrew  and  Syriac,  but,  on  the  whole,  closer 
to  the  former."  ^  But  what  does  ethnology  teach  in  regard  to 
the  Arabians?  Rawlinson  answers,  "Beyond  a  doubt,  two 
things,  principally:  first,  that,  with  the  exception  of  certain 
races  upon  the  south  coast,  they  are  homogeneous,  clearly  of 
one  blood,  resembling  each  other  most  closely,  alike  in  lan- 
guage, manners,  customs,  traditions,  and  physical  conformation  ; 
secondl}^  that  the  type  of  their  language  is  Semitic,  its  inflec- 
tions, syntax,  and  vocabulary  bearing,  all  of  them,  a  near 
resemblance  to  those  of  the  Assyrians,  the  Syrians,  and  the 
Hebrews."  ^ 

The  links  that  hold  together  the  Semitic  idioms  lie  nearer 
the  surface  than  those  which  unite  the  Semitic  group  with  the 
Arj^an.  If  we  may  so  say,  their  domestic  relations,  here  as 
elsew^here,  are  more  intimate  than  their  foreign.  We  have  the 
highest  possible  authority,  that  of  the  word  of  God,  for  main- 
taining that  the  speech  of  Japheth  and  Shem  was  originally 
one.  The  ethnologists  have  not  been  able  as  yet  to  determine 
how  far  the  languages,  spoken  by  the  descendants  of  the  two 
brothers,  perpetuate  the  evidences  of  a  common  source.  For 
the  present  they  can  do  no  more  than  report  progress  in  their 
inquiries.  Dr.  James  Strong  has  made  a  valuable  contribution 
to  the  inquiry.  He  has  compiled,  in  the  course  of  his  own 
reading,  a  list  of  about  five  hundred  Hebrew  roots  which  recur 

1  Origin  of  Nations,  pp.  237,  238,         2  Rawlinson:  Origin,  etc.,  p.  239. 
8  Ibid.,  p.  251. 


TUB   TURANIAN  REMAINDER.  163 

in  the  Indo-European  dialects,  and  which,  as  he  holds,  are  so 
palpably  similar  in  form  and  signification  as  to  leave  little 
doubt  of  their  original  identity.  Some  of  the  more  striking 
examples  are  these :  The  Hebrew  ahnak  is  angchi  in  Greek, 
ango  in  Latin,  angoisse  in  French,  enge  in  German,  and  anger  in 
English.  The  Hebrew  t/esh  is  esti  in  Greek,  est  in  Latin,  est  in 
French,  ist  in  German,  and  is  in  English.  In  a  large  proportion 
of  the  five  hundred  roots.  Dr.  Strong  remarks  that  the  resem- 
blances are  "  too  striking  to  be  accidental."  He  strengthens  his 
case  by  an  argument  drawn  from  the  grammatical  structure  of 
the  various  languages ;  ^  and  he  is  supported  in  his  conclusions 
in  regard  to  the  relation  of  the  Aryan  and  Semitic  tongues, 
by  Ewald,  Olshausen,  and  Bunsen.  Max  Miiller  believes  not 
only  in  the  possibility,  but  the  probability,  of  such  a  relation ; 
others  admit  it  with  some  reserve.^  We  may  say  confidently 
that  philology,  as  now  understood,  leans  strongly  towards  the 
identity  in  origin  of  the  two  families  of  speech  ;  and  we  need 
not  doubt,  that,  when  the  problem  is  mastered,  the  solution  will 
admonish  Shem  not  to  reproach  Japheth,  and  Japheth  not  to 
deny  Shem,  for  they  be  brothers,  and  it  is  ordained  of  God 
that  Japheth  shall  dwell  in  the  tents  of  Shem. 

The  Turanian  is  used  by  the  philologists  to  describe  the 
idioms  of  the  barbarous  and  semi-barbarous  peoples.  They 
make  up  about  one-half  of  the  human  race,  and  are  supposed 
to  speak  nearly  a  thousand  different  dialects.  The  word  Tura- 
nian is  without  significance  in  etymology,  having  been  taken, 
as  it  were,  at  random,  from  Turkestan.  It  holds  a  place  in 
philology  similar  to  that  assigned  to  the  title  "  miscellaneous  " 
iu  an  insufficient  catalogue  of  a  library  or  museum.  The 
Turanian  tongues  are  not  Aryan  ;  they  are  not  Semitic ;  and 
that  is  the  whole  case.  Among  them  are  the  languages  of  the 
Basques,  the  Chinese  with  their  many  dialects,  the  Malays  in- 
cluding the  Japanese,  the  Polynesians,  the  aboriginal  Ameri- 
cans, the  Australasians,  and  Africans.  To  this  promiscuous 
mass,  the  Chinese  contribute  forty  thousand  monosyllables ;  the 

1  McClintock  and  Strong,  Cyclo.,  art.  Philology. 

2  Ibid.,  art.  Semitic  Languages. 


164  SACRED  HISTORY. 

Mexicans  and  Choctaws  innumerable  polysyllables,  glued  to- 
gether ;  the  Hottentot  his  clicks ;  the  Hawaiian  his  "  vowelled 
undersong ;  "  the  Tlatskanian  his  guttural  ejaculations ;  and  the 
Root-Digger  a  jargon  hardly  more  articulate  than  the  cawing  of 
the  crows  which  fly  over  his  head.  Some  of  these  tongues  have 
been  investigated,  and  have  received  the  Holy  Scriptures;  nota- 
bly the  Chinese  and  the  Japanese.  The  larger  number  have 
not  been  analyzed  or  classified,  or  even  examined.  They  are 
to  philology  what  the  paupers  and  criminals  are  to  Christian 
civilization,  —  its  "  sediment  and  failures."  But  the  study  of 
them  is  not  abandoned.  The  purpose  of  the  Church  to  trans- 
late the  Scriptures  into  the  heathen  dialects  will  make  it  neces- 
sary to  reduce  them  to  written  forms,  and  to  furnish  them  with 
grammars  and  lexicons.  As  this  work  goes  on,  the  Christian 
scholar  expects  to  discover  in  these  savage  tongues  many  affini- 
ties with  the  cultivated,  just  as  the  physiologist  and  psycholo- 
gist find,  in  the  most  degraded  tribes,  proofs  of  a  common  nature 
with  the  most  enlightened.  It  is  not  open  to  us,  under  the  plea 
of  our  present  ignorance,  to  resist  the  conclusions  fairly  drawn 
from  the  Scripture  doctrine  of  the  unity  of  the  race,  showing 
the  identity  of  the  Turanian  idioms  in  their  origin  with  the 
Aryan  and  Semitic  tongues.  Indeed,  it  may  be  confidently 
asserted  that  the  tendency  of  scientific  research  at  present  is 
in  the  direction  of  original  unity  in  speech,  the  correlative  of 
the  unity  in  origin  and  species  of  the  race.  "  Nothing,"  says 
Max  Miiller,  "  necessitates  the  admission  of  different  beginnings 
for  the  formal  elements  of  the  Turanian,  Semitic,  and  Aryan 
branches  of  speech."  "  It  is  possible  even  now  to  point  out 
radicals  which,  under  various  changes  and  disguises,  have  been 
current  in  the  three  branches  ever  since  their  first  separation." 
"  Research,"  adds  Bunsen,  "  respecting  these  three  races  —  the 
Turanians,  the  Semites,  and  the  Aryans  —  leads  us  to  a  great 
common  centre,  the  district  bounded  by  the  mountains  of  Cen- 
tral Asia,  — the  Caucasus,  Ararat,  and  the  Altai. ^ 

The  other  decisive  and  far-reaching  event  in  the  history  of 
Babel  is  the  confusion  of  tongues,  by  which  the  Almighty  put 

1  Geikie:  Hours,  etc.,  i.  281,  282. 


CONFUSION  OF  THE  ONE  SPEECH.  165 

down  the  unholy  conspiracy  of  the  tower-builders.  The  narra- 
tive takes  the  form  of  a  vivid  anthropomorphism.  Jehovah 
dwells  on  high ;  he  comes  down  to  inspect  the  city  and  the 
tower;  he  examines  and  deliberates;  he  detects  the  intentions 
of  the  builders ;  he  perceives  that  they  are  thoroughly  united 
and  bold  in  purpose ;  that  their  strength  is  in  their  common 
language  ;  that  their  plans  are  conceived  in  impiety;  that  they 
will  go  on  from  bad  to  worse,  in  nothing  restrained  from  an 
apostasy  of  gigantic  proportions.  The  Almighty  resolves  to 
crush  the  incipient  rebellion.  And,  as  if  to  emphasize  his  dis- 
pleasure, he  repeats,  in  the  first  words  of  his  soliloquy,  the  rally- 
ing cry  of  the  leaders.  "  Go  to  "  (lit.  "  Up  "),  said  they,  "  let 
us  build  a  city  and  a  tower  whose  top  may  reach  to  heaven  " 
(ver.  4).  "  Go  to,"  responds  Jehovah,  "  let  us  go  down,  and 
there  confound  their  language,  that  they  may  not  understand  one 
another's  speech  "  (ver.  7).  The  Divine  decree  was  quickly 
executed.  "Jehovah  did  there  confound  the  language  of  all 
the  earth,  and  from  thence "  (Shinar)  "  did  Jehovah  scatter 
them  abroad  over  the  face  of  the  whole  earth."  And  so  a 
social  revolution  was  effected,  second  only  in  importance  to  the 
first  apostasy  of  the  race  and  its  expulsion  from  the  Garden  of 
Eden.  The  name  of  the  place  was  called  Babel,  "babbling." 
As  might  be  expected,  some  echoes  of  what  took  place  still 
linger  about  the  old  plain  of  Shinar. 

Two  Greek  historians,  Polyhistor  and  Abydenns,  derived 
from  Babylonian  sources  accounts  of  the  building  of  the  tower, 
and  the  confusion  of  tongues,  corresponding  with  the  biblical 
narrative.  These  testimonies  were  preserved  by  Eusebius. 
They  have  long  been  known,  and  confidently  relied  on  as 
important  historical  evidences.  Bnt  they  come  to  us  at  second 
or  third  hand.  Polyhistor  and  Abydenus  are  known  to  us  only 
by  the  citations  from  them  in  Eusebius  and  a  few  other  Chris- 
tian authors  ;  and  the  two  historians,  so  cited,  were  Greeks,  and 
not  native  Babylonians.  Mr.  George  Smith  has  recently  cured 
these  defects  in  the  proof.  He  has  unearthed  at  Babylon  the 
original  native  accounts  concerning  Babel,  from  which  it  is  fair 
to  assume  the  two  Greek  historians,  quoted  by  Eusebius,  drew 


166  SACBED  HISTOET. 

their  reports.  The  version  of  Polyhistor  is  as  follows  :  "  Once 
upon  a  time,  when  the  whole  race  of  mankind  were  of  one 
language,  a  certain  number  of  them  set  to  work  to  build  a  great 
tower,  thinking  to  climb  up  to  heaven ;  but  God  caused  a  wind 
to  blow,  and  cast  the  tower  down,  at  the  same  time  giving  to 
every  man  his  own  peculiar  speech.  On  which  account  the  city 
was  called  Babylon."  The  original  version,  written  on  the  clay 
tablets  brought  by  Mr.  George  Smith  from  Babylonia,  and 
deposited  in  the  British  Museum,  is  substantially  as  follows :  — 

"  Babylon  corruptly  to  sin  went,  and 

Small  and  great  were  mingled  on  the  mound ; 
Babylon  corruptly  to  sin  went,  and 

Small  and  great  were  mingled  on  the  mound. 


Their  work  all  day  they  builded ; 

But  to  their  stronghold  in  the  night 
Entirely  an  end  God  made  ; 

In  his  anger  also,  his  secret  counsel  he  poured  forth, 
He  set  his  face  to  scatter ; 

He  gave  command  to  make  strange  their  speech ; 
Their  progress  he  impeded. 

In  that  day  he  blew,  and  for  (all)  future  time  • 

The  mountain  (was  demolished  ?) ; 
Lawlessness  stalked  forth  abroad ; 
And  though  God  spake  to  them, 
Men  went  their  ways,  and  strenuously 

Opposed  themselves  to  God. 
He  saw  and  to  the  earth  came  down ; 

No  stop  he  made,  while  they 
Against  the  Gods  revolted  .  .  . 

Greatly  they  wept  for  Babylon, 
Greatly  they  wept."  ^ 

Eastern  antiquity  has  been  closely  interrogated  in  regard  to 
the  subject.  Answers  have  been  returned  not  only  from  the 
Greek  historians  already  named,  but  from  the  queer  fancies  of 

1  Records  of  the  Past,  vii.  131, 132  j  quoted  in  Rawlinson'a  Egypt  and  Babylon, 
p.  10. 


GOD'S  RESERVE  FORCES.  167 

the  rabbins ;  from  the  anonymous  sibyl  of  Josephus ;  from  the 
song  of  Homer  celebrating  the  prowess  of  the  two  giants  who 
piled  Ossa  on  Olympus  and  Pelion  on  Ossa  ;  from  the  hiero- 
glyphics of  Egypt ;  and  from  the  contents  of  a  Mexican  manu- 
script in  the  Vatican.^  But  these  legends  and  traditions  add 
but  little  probative  force  to  the  original,  authentic,  Babylonian 
records. 

The  measure  adopted  by  the  Almighty  to  defeat  the  tower- 
builders  was  wisely  chosen.  It  was  effectual;  babbling  was 
their  despair  and  ruin.  Moreover,  it  was  in  keeping  with  the 
occasion.  The  lingual  unity  which  promised  success  to  their 
plans,  was  turned  into  lingual  incongruities  which  completely 
frustrated  them.  Again,  their  punishment  corresponded  to 
their  sin.  Their  sin  was  an  attempt  to  set  up  a  godless  empire ; 
their  punishment  was  the  dissolution  of  the  incipient  empire. 
Further,  this  incident  reveals  the  irresistible  forces  with  Avhich 
the  Divine  decrees  are  armed.  God  had  determined  that  the 
whole  habitable  globe  should  be  occupied  by  mankind,  and  here 
that  i)urpose  is  accomplished  by  his  single  fiat.  And,  further 
still,  the  resources  of  the  Almighty  are  inexhaustible.  He 
punished  the  first  apostasy  in  Adam  and  Eve,  by  banishment 
from  paradise,  and  the  sentence  of  death ;  he  swept  away  the 
corruption  of  the  earth  by  the  waters  of  the  Flood ;  he  met 
the  arrogance  and  impiety  of  the  tower-builders  by  the  confusion 
of  tongues  ;  he  mastered  "the  bondage  of  his  people  in  Egypt  by 
the  ten  plagues ;  the  waywardness  of  the  people  at  Kadesh- 
barnea,  by  laying  their  bones  in  the  wilderness ;  and  the  con- 
summate wickedness  of  the  Jews,  by  the  destruction  of  their 
commonwealth.  And  when  he  shall  destroy  the  world,  he  will 
use  fire  instead  of  water  as  before.     God  rarely  repeats  himself. 

Nor  did  the  Almighty  forget  any  of  his  gracious  purposes 
towards  our  race  in  the  confusion  of  tongues.  Biblical  scholars 
concur  in  accepting  the  miracle  of  the  Pentecost  as  the  antithe- 
sis and  reversal  of  the  miracle  at  Babel.  In  the  words  of 
Grotius:  "The  punishment  of  tongues  dispersed  mankind;  the 
gift  of  tongues  gathered  the  dispersed  into  one  people."     Babel 

1  Geikie:  i.  pp.  284  seq. 


168  SACRED  HISTORY. 

represents  God's  judgment  on  the  impiety  of  men,  driving  them 
asunder  ;  Pentecost  represents  the  Avork  of  the  Holy  Spirit, 
restoring  men  by  the  righteousness  of  faith  to  unity  again. 
And  to  this  end  the  Church  is  striving  to  give  the  Scriptures, 
and  to  preach  the  gospel,  to  every  creature  under  heaven,  in  the 
tongue  in  which  he  was  born.  Nor  is  this  all.  The  redeemed 
will  undoubtedly  return  to  lingual  unity  when  they  shall  be 
gathered  around  the  throne  (Rev.  vii.  9, 10).  Keil  suggests  that 
"•  with  the  disappearance  of  unity,  the  one  original  language  was 
also  lost.  It  is  extinct,  buried  in  the  materials  of  the  langu  ges 
of  the  nations,  to  rise  again  one  day  to  eternal  life  in  the  glori- 
fied form  of  the  new  tongue,  intelligible  to  all  the  redeemed ; 
when  sin  with  its  consequences  is  overcome  and  extinguished 
by  the  power  of  grace."  ^ 

1  Keil  and  Delitzsch  on  the  Pent.,  i.  p.  175. 


THE  GENEALOGICAL  REGISTERS.  169 


CHAPTER  XII. 

THE   OLD   AND  THE  NEW. 

"  The  generations  of  Shem  "  is  the  title  given  to  the  fifth 
book  of  Genesis.  It  begins  with  chap.  xi.  10,  and  ends  with 
xi.  26.  It  is  wholly  occupied  with  the  genealogy  which  con- 
nects Noah  with  Terah  and  Abram.  In  chap,  v.,  Moses  traces 
the  line  of  the  antediluvian  patriarchs  from  Adam  to  Noah. 
Each  of  these  registers  covers  ten  generations  and  one  thousand 
years.  Taken  together,  they  bring  down  the  genealogy  of 
Christ  to  the  point  of  time  midway  from  the  creation  of  the 
world  to  the  incarnation  of  its  Redeemer.  These  registers, 
completed  by  those  in  the  later  scriptures,  supplied  Matthew 
and  Luke  with  the  materials  for  genealogies  showing  that 
Jesus  Christ,  as  the  Son  of  man,  was,  in  common  with  us  all, 
the  partaker  of  a  nature  derived  from  Adam,  and  that  he  was, 
in  strictness  of  speech,  the  seed  of  the  woman  promised  in  the 
first  gospel.  An  authentic  pedigree  is  set  forth,  which  has  no 
parallel  in  the  annals  of  mankind.  Its  beginning  antedates  the 
dawn  of  profane  history  by  five  and  twenty  centuries.  It  pur- 
sues its  way  through  the  entire  antediluvian  ages,  a  period 
unknown  to  every  writer  other  than  Moses;  then  through 
another  thousand  years,  the  mythical  and  fabulous  domain 
of  profane  history ;  and  after  that,  fifteen  hundred  years  to 
the  birth  of  Christ.  Still  further,  the  historical  unity  of  the 
first  eleven  chapters  of  Genesis  is  shown  in  these  registers. 
Beginning  with  Adam,  and  proceeding  with  unbroken  con- 
tinuity through  two  thousand  years,  to  Abraham,  the  tables 
form  the  spinal  column  of  the  narrative.  The  names  of  the 
patriarchs  answer  to  the  vertebree,  articulated  each  into  those 


170  SACRED  HISTORY. 

which  are  immediately  above  and  below,  and  built  up  into  one 
compact  and  continuous  structure.^ 

This  section  su^Dplies,  moreover,  the  connecting  link  between 
the  longevity  of  the  antediluvians  and  the  reduction  of  the 
term  of  human  life  in  the  Abrahamic  era.  About  the  middle 
of  the  fourth  century  after  the  Flood,  the  average  duration  of 
human  life  was  diminished  by  one-half.  Noah,  the  last  of  the 
antediluvian  patriarchs,  lived  nine  hundred  and  fifty  years; 
his  son  Shem  was  spared  six  hundred,  and  Eber  four  hundred 
and  sixty-four  years ;  with  Peleg  the  term  of  life  was  reduced 
by  one-half  again  to  two  hundred  and  thirty -nine  years ;  with 
Serug,  to  two  hundred  and  thirty  years ;  and  Nahor  died  at  the 
age  of  one  hundred  and  forty-eight.  Kalisch,  by  way  of 
accounting  for  these  facts,  suggests  that  man  was  originally 
endowed  with  immortality,  but  his  remarkable  vitality  was 
gradually  exhausted  by  the  poison  of  sin.  Keil  suggests  that 
the  two  catastrophes  —  the  Flood,  and  the  dispersion  of  the  race 
at  Babel  —  abridged  human  life  ;  the  former  by  modifying 
the  climate  of  the  earth,  the  latter  by  demoralizing  the  habits 
of  men.  A  better  exjDlanation  is  found  in  the  wisdom  of  God 
appointing  from  time  to  time  the  bounds  of  men's  habitation, 
and  accomplishing  that  purpose  by  means  not  revealed.  The 
significant  facts  are,  that  the  term  of  Abraham's  life  was  limited 
to  one  hundred  and  seventy-five  years ;  in  Isaac  it  rose  to  one 
hundred  and  eighty,  in  Jacob  it  fell  again  to  one  hundred  and 
forty-seven,  and  in  Joseph  to  one  hundred  and  ten  years. 

Still  further,  this  book  reveals  the  selection  of  particular  men 
out  of  their  generations  as  instruments  for  accomplishing  the 
plan  of  Providence.  It  is  said  of  the  patriarchs,  both  before 
and  after  the  Flood,  that  they  begat  sons  and  daughters.  But 
of  their  many  children,  only  one  was  chosen  to  stand  in  the 
illustrious  line  of  Christ's  ancestry.  All  the  others  are  quietly 
dropped  into  oblivion.  There  is  not  the  least  reason  to  sup- 
pose that  the  appointment  of  one  rather  than  another  to  this 
distinction  was  controlled  by  the  law  of  primogeniture,  or  by 
any  foresight   of   goodness   in   them.     One   was   chosen,   and 

1  Coleman's  Atlas,  p.  6. 


INCREASE  OF  THE  PEOPLE.  171 

another  passed  by,  according  to  the  counsels  of  God's  will. 
This  discrimination  will  appear  conspicuously  as  we  proceed. 
Here  we  have  a  hint  preparing  us  for  the  subsequent  dis- 
closures. 

"The  generations  of  Shem,"  the  fifth  book  in  the  record, 
closes  thus :  "  And  Terah  lived  seventy  years,  and  begat  Abram, 
Nahor,  and  Haran."  Then  begins  the  history  of  an  advanced 
period  in  the  kingdom  of  God.  Some  knowledge  of  the  con- 
dition of  the  human  race,  at  the  close  of  the  old  and  the 
opening  of  the  new  era,  will  facilitate  our  inquiries,  even  if 
one  may  not  be  able  to  escape  some  anachronisms  and  mistakes 
in  matters  of  fact.  Risks,  these  are,  which  beset  every  attempt 
to  fill  up  the  outline  of  the  sacred  record  with  historical  notices 
drawn  from  the  traditions,  written  and  unwritten,  of  the  older 
nations.  The  archa3ologists  differ  widely  in  regard  to  the  popu- 
lation of  the  known  world  when  Abram  left  Ur  of  the  Chaldees. 
Professor  KeiU  entertains  his  readers  with  two  arithmetical 
calculations,  resting  upon  conjectures  as  to  the  number  of 
marriages  which  had  taken  place  since  the  Deluge,  and  the 
average  number  of  children  in  each  family.  The  first  calcula- 
tion terminates  in  an  aggregate  of  twenty-five  million  souls ; 
and  the  second,  in  a  sum  total  of  two  hundred  and  ninety-three 
millions.  Professor  Murphy,  following  a  similar  method,  esti- 
mates the  population  at  nearly  sixteen  millions.^  One  may  be 
excused  if  he  looks  with  some  distrust  upon  an  attempt  to  settle 
an  historical  question,  not  by  testimony,  but  by  an  arithmetic 
which  relies  on  guess-work  as  data,  and  terminates  in  conclu- 
sions so  wide  apart.  Until  we  are  better  informed,  it  will  be 
safe  to  lean  toward  the  most  moderate  of  these  estimates. 

The  three  peoples  with  whom  Abraham  was  connected  are 
those  of  Chaldsea,  Canaan,  and  Egypt.  Among  the  ancient 
Chaldees,  traces  are  to  be  found  of  a  splendid  but  uncouth 
material  civilization.  They  were  tower-builders.  The  ruins 
of  several  colossal  structures  remain  to  this  day.  They  were 
built  in  the  form  of  irregular  pyramids,  and  were  made  of 
bricks,  sun-dried  for  the  interior  and  baked  for  the  outer  walls. 

1  Keil  and  Delitzsch,  vol.  i.  p.  178.  3  Murphy  on  Gen.,  p.  252.    • 


172  SACRED  BISTORT. 

"  The  heavy  massiveness  of  the  walls,  the  coarseness  of  the 
material,  the  absence  of  ornamentation,  and  its  mean  character, 
tell  of  a  time  when  art  was  in  its  infancy."  ^  Their  implements 
belonged  to  what  is  called  the  stone  and  bronze  age.  In  pottery, 
their  ingenuity  expended  itself  on  coarse  clay  mixed  with 
chopped  straw.  What  Rawlinson  calls  the  unevenness  of  the 
civilization  of  the  early  Babylonians,  appears  in  their  elaborate 
silk  and  linen  dresses,  well-wrought  ornaments,  beautiful  seal 
and  gem  engraving,  and  artistic  furniture,  co-existing  with  rude 
and  primitive  architecture,  and  implements  of  stone.^  Dr. 
Geikie  reaches  conclusions  somewhat  more  flattering  to  the 
cultivation  of  the  people  of  Mugheir,  now  commonly  thought 
to  be  Ur  of  the  Chaldees.  According  to  him,  Mugheir  was,  in 
Abraham's  day,  a  splendid  city.  "  The  arts  and  sciences  were 
cultivated,  astronomers  watched  the  heavens,  poets  composed 
hymns  and  epics,  and  patient  scribes  stamped  on  soft  tablets 
the  books  which  have  in  part  come  down  to  our  day."  ^ 

Egyptian  civilization  was  in  advance  of  the  Chaldsean.  The 
Pyramids,  it  is  probable,  were  built  before  Abraham's  visit  to 
that  land,  if  not  also  the  colossal  temple  at  Helio]3olis.  He 
became  familiar  with  the  vessels  by  which  the  Nile  was  navi- 
gated ;  with  the  dancers  moving  to  the  music  of  the  song,  the 
harp,  and  the  pipe ;  with  the  glass-blowers  and  cabinet-makers 
plying  their  trades ;  with  the  plough  drawn  by  oxen,  and  the 
reapers  gathering  the  wheat  into  the  granaries.  Immense  herds 
of  camels,  asses,  flocks  of  sheep,  and  fat  kine  fed  in  the  meadows; 
orchards,  gardens,  and  vineyards  responded  in  their  luxuriance 
and  beauty  to  the  soil,  fertile  by  nature,  and  solicited  by  the 
waters  of  the  Nile  flowing  through  innumerable  channels. 
The  .precious  metals  were  abundant ;  for  Abraham  ^'  went  up 
to  Canaan  rich  in  cattle,  in  silver,  and  in  gold."  Astronomers 
followed  the  courses  of  the  stars,  geometricians  mapped  out  the 
topography  of  the  country,  while  physicians  watched  the  sick 
and  embalmed  the  bodies  of  the  dead. 

The  land  of  Canaan  was,  in  Abraham's  day,  thinly  peoj)led. 

1  Rawlinson:  Origin  of  Nations,  p.  43.  2  ibid.,  pp.  4(5,  47. 

8  Geikie:  Hours,  etc.,  vol.  i.  p.  296. 


TBANSITION   TO  PARTICULARISM.  173 

If  it  had  been  otherwise,  the  natives  avouIcI  scarcely  have  allowed 
Abraham  to  feed  his  immense  herds  of  camels  and  sheep  in  their 
pastures,  and  to  traverse  freely  the  whole  land,  from  Shechem 
to  Beersheba,  in  search  of  green  fields  and  redundant  water- 
springs.  The  natives  were  gathered  into  independent  tribes. 
Moses  describes  ten  of  these  tribes  by  name  in  Gen.  xv.  19-21. 
The  country  was  divided  into  districts,  which  were  ruled  by 
sheiks,  and  protected  by  walled  cities.  Thus  we  read  of  the 
kings  of  Sodom,  Salem,  and  Shechem.  The  Philistines  towards 
the'  south  and  the  Phoenicians  in  the  north  dwelt  by  the  sea, 
were  warlike,  and  traded  with  the  people  who  inhabited  the 
neighboring  coasts  and  islands  of  the  Mediterranean.  We 
have  but  little  information  of  their  civilization,  if,  indeed,  the 
term  "  barbarism  "  ought  not  to  be  applied  to  them. 

The  plan  on  which  the  sacred  records  were  constructed  con- 
fined their  writers  to  the  religious  life  or  superstitions  of  the 
peoples,  with  such  incidental  allusions  to  their  antiquities  as 
were  needed  to  clear  up  the  narrative.  But  the  inspired  his- 
torian sets  forth  sufficiently  the  religious  condition  of  the 
human  race  at  the  time  of  Abraham,  and  explains  the  character 
of  the  new  era  in  the  kingdom  of  God,  which  was  begun  in  him. 
The  distinguishing  mark  of  this  era  was  a  transition  in  the 
Divine  administration  from  what  is  known  in  the  schools  as 
"  universalism  "  to  what  is  called  "  particularism."  The  term 
"  universalism,"  as  used  here,  is  equivalent  to  the  word  "  catho- 
lic "  or  "  oecumenical,"  and  is  employed  to  express  the  ruling 
idea  in  the  history  of  redemption  from  Adam  to  Abram.  In 
these  early  ages  the  Divine  revelations  were  not  restricted  to 
a  single  race.  The  first  promise  was  made  to  the  seed  of  the 
woman,  a  phrase  applicable  in  an  important  sense  to  her  entire 
posterity.  The  cherubim,  symbols  of  God's  presence,  were 
posted  at  the  east  of  the  garden,  in  the  sight  of  all  the  living. 
The  weekly  sabbath  invited  the  toiling  children  of  men,  with- 
out distinction,  to  enter  into  its  sacred  rest.  Access  to  God  at 
the  altar  was  granted  to  every  holy  worshipper.  In  the  days 
of  Enos,  the  third  from  Adam,  the  formal  worship  of  Jehovah 
was  instituted.     At  a  later  period  Enoch,  with  Noah,  preachers 


174  SACRED  HISTOBV. 

of  righteousness,  made  proclamation  of  the  word  of  God  in  the 
hearing  of  all  men.  There  was  on  earth  no  favored  people  in 
the  bosom  of  which  the  kingdom  of  heaven  was  established, 
and  no  sacerdotal  order  holding  an  exclusive  prerogative  to 
offer  gifts  and  sacrifices  to  God.  These  revelations  and  ordi- 
nances, in  the  wide  distribution  of  them,  lost  their  efficacy  in 
the  midst  of  universal  corruption ;  and,  in  the  days  of  Noah, 
the  waters  of  the  Flood  terminated  what  has  been  called  the 
first  experiment  on  human  nature.  After  the  Flood  a  covenant 
of  forbearance  was  made  with  Noah,  for  himself  and  his  pos- 
terity, wherein  the  ritual  of  worship  was  enlarged,  and  the 
general  offer  of  salvation,  which  had  been  refused  by  the  old 
world,  was  repeated  to  the  new.  But  a  second  apostasy 
occurred  at  the  Tower  of  Babel,  and  was  followed  by  the  dis- 
persion of  mankind.  The  people  carried  with  them  everywhere 
a  spirit  of  incipient  heathenism  and  desperate  ungodliness. 

At  the  call  of  Abraham,  true  religion  was  almost  extinct. 
Among  the  three  groups  of  nations  descending  from  Shem, 
Ham,  and  Japheth,  the  Divine  revelations  to  Adam  and  Noah 
were  forgotten  or  disfigured.  Idolatry,  a  sin  unknown  to  the 
generations  before  the  Deluge,  but  conceived  at  Babel,  was 
steadily  gaining  ground.  Both  the  true  and  the  false  worship 
were,»in  the  well-chosen  words  of  Hengstenberg,  "  in  a  transi- 
tion state,  —  idolatry  on  the  increase,  true  religion  on  the 
wane."  This  judgment  is  supported  by  the  history  of  the  strug- 
gle between  the  two  opposing  forces.  To  begin  with  Egypt, 
Moses  reveals  the  existence  of  polygamy,  or  concubinage,  in  the 
attempt  of  Pharaoh  to  take  Sarah  into  his  house.  The  record 
is  silent  in  regard  to  the  religious  observances  of  the  Egyptians. 
From  other  sources  we  gather  that  Sabism,  the  worsliip  of  the 
sun,  moon,  and  stars,  was,  throughout  the  East,  the  earliest 
form  of  idolatry.  It  is  vividly  described  by  Job  (Job  xxxi. 
26-28).  That  Sabism  and  its  revolting  antithesis  —  animal 
worship — were  gaining  a  foothold  in  Egypt,  may  be  inferred 
from  the  marriage  of  Joseph,  about  sixty-five  years  after  the 
death  of  Abraham,  to  the  daughter  of  the  priest  of  the  Temple 
of  the  Sun  at  Heliopolis.     In  Joseph's  day,  also,  if  the  antipathy 


IDOLATRY  EVERYWHERE.  175 

of  the  Egyptians  to  the  Hebrews  is  rightly  explained,  the 
Egyptians  paid  divine  honors  to  the  animals  which  were  slain 
for  food  and  for  the  altar  by  the  Hebrews.  The  worship  of  the 
molten  calf  at  Sinai  was  an  act  of  fetichism.  What  Herodotus 
says,  speaking  of  a  later  time,  is  probably  true  of  the  earlier : 
"  The  cow  is  worshipped  by  the  Egyptians ;  and  therefore  no 
Egyptian,  either  male  or  female,  may  kiss  a  Greek  or  a  stranger, 
or  make  use  of  his  knife  or  his  roasting-spit  or  his  pot."  ^  From 
these  circumstances  it  is  right  to  infer  that  idolatry  prevailed 
in  Egypt  when  Abraham  visited  Pharaoh. 

Turning  now  to  Chaldsea,  we  are  told  that  the  race  of  the 
patriarch  served  false  gods.  "  Your  fathers  dwelt  on  the  other 
side  of  the  flood  in  old  time  ;  even  Terah,  the  father  of  Abra- 
ham and  the  father  of  Nahor,  and  they  served  other  gods  " 
(Josh.  xxiv.  2,  14).  Sabism  was  introduced  very  early  into 
Chaldsea.  There  is  reason  to  believe,  that,  before  Abraham  left 
his  native  country,  Sargon  had  established  a  complete  system 
of  idolatry,  with  its  hierarchy  of  priests.  The  planets  were 
recognized  as  gods ;  astronomy  fixed  the  holy  season ;  astrology 
regulated  the  lives  of  the  people ;  and  superstition,  led  from 
bad  to  worse  by  magic  and  divination,  became  an  incurable 
epidemic.^ 

The  sacred  writer  gives  us  no  information  in  regard  to  the 
idolatry  of  the  Canaanites,  either  before  Abraham's  day,  or 
during  the  sojourn  of  the  three  pilgrim  fathers.  Molech  the 
god  of  Ammon,  and  Chemosh  the  god  of  Moab,  are  first  men- 
tioned in  the  history  of  the  journey  of  the  Hebrews  in  the  wil- 
derness (Lev.  xviii.  21 ;  Num.  xxi.  29).  Baal-peor  does  not 
appear  until  near  the  close  of  the  journey  (Num.  xxv.  3).  Just 
before  the  period  of  the  judges,  "  Israel  forsook  the  Lord  "  and 
served  Baal  the  chief  god,  and  Ashtoreth;  the  chief  goddess, 
of  Sidon  (Judg.  ii.  13).  These  historical  notices  do  not  prove 
that  the  Canaanites,  before  Abraham  came  to  Shechem,  wor- 
shipped either  Baal  or  Chemosh  or  Ashtoreth;   they  lend  an 

1  Hengstenberg:  Kingdom  of  God,  vol.  i.  p.  122. 

2  Geikie's  Hours  with  the  Bible,  vol.  1.  pp.  305-307,  and  the  authorities  cited 
there. 


176  SACREB  HISTORY. 

air  of  probability  to  the  conjecture  that  idolatry,  in  some  form, 
prevailed  among  them  at  that  early  time.  There  can  be  no 
doubt  in  regard  to  the  moral  corruption,  at  that  period,  of 
Sodom  and  Gomorrah.  The  horrible  customs  prevc  iling  there 
have  given  to  our  language  a  word,  "sodomy,"  to  define  a  filthy 
crime,  otherwise  nameless,  against  God  and  human  nature. 
And,  yet,  at  that  very  time,  Moses  says  the  iniquity  of  the 
people  "  was  not  full."  What  it  was  at  the  full,  may  be  learned 
from  the  eighteenth  chapter  of  Leviticus.  It  should  be  said, 
however,  that  some  traces  of  Divine  knowledge  lingered  in 
those  lands.  Laban  in  Mesopotamia,  while  carefully  guarding 
his  house-gods,  called  upon  the  God  of  Abraham  and  the  God 
of  Nahor,  the  God  of  their  father,  to  witness  between  him- 
self and  Jacob  (Gen.  xxxi.  53).  Pharaoh  recognized  Jehovah 
as  the  author  of  the  great  plagues  which  plagued  his  house 
oh  account  of  Sarah.  Abimelech,  king  of  Gerar,  obeyed  the 
warning  of  God  in  regard  to  Sarah,  acknowledged  that  God 
was  with  Abraham,  and  made  a  covenant  with  the  patriarch 
at  Beersheba  (Gen.  xx.).  Melchizedek,  although  a  Canaanite, 
was  a  holy  priest-king.  He  characterized  Jehovah  as  the  most 
high  God,  possessor  of  heaven  and  earth ;  he  blessed  Abraham 
and  was  a  type  of  Christ.  But  while  the  light  of  the  earlier 
revelations  was  struggling  with  the  darkness  of  heathenism,  the 
night  was  gaining  steadily  on  the  day.  Chaldsea  was  going 
"  mad  on  her  idols."  Egypt  was  becoming  the  basest  of  king- 
doms. Canaan  was  filling  up  the  measure  of  its  iniquities.  In 
the  days  of  Terah  the  system  of  universalism,  by  which  the 
offer  of  salvation  was  made  broadly  to  all  mankind  in  the  first 
gospel,  had  issued  in  the  apostasy  of  the  race. 

Another  and  widely  different  method  of  grace  was  at  that 
time  devised,  beginning  with  a  new  man.  The  time  for  the 
reformation  was  well  chosen ;  the  last  element  of  Divine 
knowledge  not  having  been  eliminated  from  the  mixture  of 
revealed  religion  and  idolatry.  And  the  new  man,  Terah's 
youngest  son,  was  well  chosen  to  be  the  progenitor  of  the  new 
race.  The  new  method  is  commonly  called  particularism ;  the 
new  man  was  Abraham.     In  him  was  renewed  the  promise  of 


PAETICULAEISM  NOT  EXCLUSIVISM.  177 

the  first  gospel,  "  The  seed  of  the  woman  shall  bruise  the 
serpent's  head ; "  and  on  him  was  bestowed  the  consummate 
blessing  of  the  covenant  with  Noah:  "Blessed  be  the  Lord 
God  of  Shem."  The  characteristics  of  particularism,  as  dis- 
tinguished from  the  universalism  which  it  superseded,  are 
plainly  disclosed.  The  Almighty  chose  out  of  the  human  race, 
one  man,  a  native  of  Mesopotamia,  called  Abram,  changed  his 
name  to  Abraham,  the  father  of  many  nations,  separated  him 
and  his  household  from  his  native  country  and  kindred,  made 
an  everlasting  covenant  with  him  and  his  seed  after  him,  and 
established,  in  that  single  household,  his  church  and  kingdom 
on  earth.  To  them  he  gave  specific  revelations  and  covenants, 
together  with  a  sanctuary,  Divine  oracles,  a  complete  ritual  of 
worship,  priestly  orders,  the  gift  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  and  the 
hope  of  life  everlasting  through  a  Messiah  to  come.  For  two 
thousand  years  the  visible  kingdom  of  God  was  preserved  in 
the  bosom  of  a  single  race,  insignificant  in  numbers,  and  wedged 
in  between  the  basin  of  the  Mediterranean,  and  the  mountains 
of  Moab.  This  selection  of  one  particular  race  was  accentuated 
by  the  silent  rejection  of  all  other  peoples.  Egyptians,  Canaan- 
ites,  Assyrians,  Babylonians,  in  short  all  the  descendants  of 
Japheth,  and  of  Ham,  and  of  Shem  except  Abram  and  his  seed, 
were  counted  as  aliens  from  the  covenants,  and  were  left  outside 
of  the  Church  and  kingdom  of  God.  Even  so,  the  wicked  in 
the  days  of  Noah  were  left  outside  of  the  ark. 

But  this  plan  of  Providence,  on  the  one  hand  bestowing  the 
true  religion  on  the  descendants  of  Abraham  as  their  particular 
possession,  and  on  the  other  hand  passing  by  all  the  outlying 
nations,  though  called  particularism,  is  not  the  equivalent  of 
exclusivism.  It  was  predestined  to  issue  in  the  gospel  for  all 
nations.  "  I  will  bless  thee,"  said  God  to  Abram  ;  "  and  in  thee 
shall  all  families  of  the  earth  be  blessed,"  was  quickly  added 
(Gen.  xii.  2,  3).  And  lest  any  doubt  might  arise  as  to  the 
meaning  of  the  word  "families,"  the  new  plan  of  salvation  is 
preceded  in  the  tenth  chapter  of  Genesis,  by  a  genealogical 
register.  This  document  shows,  in  the  first  place,  that  all  the 
tribes  then  living,  together  with  all  the  peoples  which  should 


1(8  SACRED  HISTORY. 

proceed  from  them,  are  one  and  the  same  in  origin,  species,  and 
native-born  sinfulness.  Moreover,  this  register,  preserving  the 
names  of  all  the  sons  of  Noah,  "  after  their  families,  after  their 
tongues,  in  their  countries,  and  in  their  nations,"  is  in  the 
nature  of  a  written  guaranty  that  none  of  them  will  be 
forgotten  in  the  counsels  of  Infinite  Mercy,  although  Jehovah 
would  suffer  the  heathen  "to  walk  in  their  own  way"  through 
many  generations  (Isa.  xlix.).i  In  Abraham  the  universal 
gave  place  for  a  time  to  the  particular ;  but  the  particular  was, 
from  the  beginning,  intended  to  widen  out  again  into  the  uni- 
versal. One  race  was  chosen  to  receive  the  blessing  in  the 
first  instance,  and  that  race  was  also  the  appointed  channel 
through  which  the  blessing  was,  in  the  fulness  of  time,  to  flow 
to  all  mankind. 

This  train  of  thought  reveals  the  true  relation  of  Judaism 
and  of  heathenism  to  Christianity.  It  has  been  thus  defined : 
Judaism  prepared  Christianity  for  man ;  heathenism  prepared 
man  for  Christianity.  In  the  bosom  of  the  Jewish  Church 
God  slowly  matured  the  salvation  of  the  gospel.  By  the  open 
manifestation  of  his  glory  he  planted  in  the  mind  of  that 
people,  on  roots  that  cannot  be  extirpated,  the  idea  of  one 
only  living  and  true  God.  Through  the  ritual  of  sacrifice  and 
purification  he  made  known  the  guilt  and  corruption  of  human 
nature,  together  with  the  necessity  of  the  atonement  and  the 
new  birth.  By  the  use  of  types  and  prophecies  he  described 
the  person  and  office  of  the  coming  Messiah.  When  John  the 
Baptist,  the  last  of  the  Old-Testament  prophets,  saw  the  Lord 
Jesus,  he  exclaimed,  "  Behold  the  Lamb  of  God,  which  taketh 
away  the  sin  of  the  world  ! "  The  frankincense-tree,  solicited 
by  sunshine  and  shower,  distilled  the  savory  gum  from  root 
and  bough  and  leaf  and  flower,  and  at  last  brought  its  whole 
life,  in  its  aromatic  gift,  to  the  altar.  In  like  manner,  salvation 
by  the  cross  of  Christ  had  been  slowly  educed  from  the  first 
gospel  by  the  unfolding  purpose  of  God  running  through  all 
the  ages.  Meanwhile  heathenism  was  preparing  man  for  Chris- 
tianity,    The  spasmodic  and  futile  efforts,  of  here  and  there  a 

1  Kurtz :  Sacred  History,  p.  62. 


HEATHENISM  BUILDING  FOR    CHRISTIANITY.  179 

troubled  conscience,  at  self-redemption,  and  the  failure  of  all 
the  plans  devised  to  rescue  human  nature  from  its  degradation, 
demonstrated  the  insufficiency  of  reason  and  of  the  light  of 
nature,  and  the  necessity  of  Divine  interposition.  The  heathen 
became  weary  of  idolatry.  The  Roman  poets  of  the  Christian 
era  scoffed  at  their  gods,  or  made  merry  with  them  in  satires 
and  epigrams.  Further,  the  Gentile  civilizations  were  appoint- 
ed to  bring  into  existence,  as  future  auxiliaries  to  Christianity, 
the  arts  and  sciences,  a  compact  system  of  civil  government, 
together  with  a  language  of  wonderful  copiousness  and  precis- 
ion, to  express  the  mind  of  the  Holy  Spirit  in  the  New  Testa- 
ment. "  Science,  art,  worldly  culture,  and  in  general  the 
vessels  for  the  coming  salvation,  were  to  be  prepared  by  the 
heathen  ;  but  salvation  itself  was  solely  by  the  Jews  (John  iv. 
22)"  {Kurtz').  "The  Jews,  Greeks,  and  Romans  were  the  three 
peoples  of  God's  election ;  two  for  things  temporal,  and  one 
for  things  eternal.  Greek  cultivation  and  Roman  polity  pre- 
pared man  for  Christianity"  (^Arnold).  •  When  our  blessed 
Saviour  was  crucified,  the  superscription  of  his  accusation  was 
written  above  his  cross,  in  letters  of  Greek  and  Hebrew  and 
Latin.  "The  city  of  God  is  built  at  the  confluence  of  three 
civilizations,  —  Hebrew,  Latin,  and  Greek"  (^Howson).  Biblical 
scholars  have  discovered  in  the  parable  of  the  prodigal  son,  a 
likeness  to  heathenism  in  the  younger  son,  and  to  Judaism  in 
the  elder  brother.  The  Jews  remained  in  the  Father's  house. 
They  lived  upon  his  bounty  until  they  came  to  regard  them- 
selves as  the  sole  heirs  of  the  immense  inheritance.  The 
heathen,  like  the  younger  son,  left  the  old  homestead.  They 
took  with  them,  as  their  portion  of  the  goods,  the  accusing  and 
excusing  conscience,  the  recollections  of  the  traditions  of  Eden 
and  the  fall,  of  the  earlier  revelations  of  the  Flood  and  the  dis- 
persion of  mankind.  Many  of  these  goods  they  wasted  on  the 
"  riotous  worship  of  nature,"  and  others  they  perverted  to  the 
ministry  of  their  evil  passions.  Although  the  pagan  supersti- 
tions and  observances  to  which  they  were  reduced,  bore  some 
faint  resemblance  to  the  Divine  verities  and  worship,  even  as 
the  husk  retains  the  shape  given  to  it  by  the  grain,  —  yet  it  is 


180  SACRED  HISTORY. 

but  a  husk,  fit  only  for  the  swme.  At  last  the  "  law  written 
on  the  heart,"  never  wholly  obliterated,  acted  as  a  mighty  force 
drawing  tliem  back  to  the  Father's  house.  Still  further,  the 
attitude  of  the  Gentiles  waiting  for  the  gospel,  shown  in  the 
visit  of  the  Eastern  sages  to  the  cradle  of  Jesus,  and  in 
the  Macedonian  cry,  finds  its  parallel  in  the  return  of  the 
prodigal.  The  command  of  Christ  sending  to  them  the  gospel 
is  the  act  of  the  father  meeting  the  long-lost  son  while  a  great 
way  off.  The  unnatural  conduct  of  the  elder  son,  at  the  return 
of  his  brother,  represents  the  resistance  offered  by  the  Jews 
to  the  reception  of  the  Gentiles  into  the  Christian  Church.^ 
This  feature  in  the  history  of  redemption  is  far  more  clearly 
brought  out  in  the  ministry  of  Jesus  Christ,  whereby,  indeed, 
whatever  is  obscure  in  the  plan  of  salvation  is  cleared  up,  and 
whatever  is  clear  is  illuminated.  "Now  I  say,"  writes  Paul, 
"  that  Jesus  Christ  was  a  minister  of  the  circumcision  for  the 
truth  of  God,  to  confirm  the  promises  made  unto  the  fathers ; 
and  that  the  Gentiles  might  glorify  God  for  his  mercy "  (Rom. 
XV.  8,  9).  That  is  to  say,  the  immediate  attention  of  Christ 
following  the  law  of  particularism  was  given  to  the  Jews,  in 
order  to  secure  for  them  the  blessings  promised  to  the  fathers ; 
but  his  saving  mercies,  following  the  law  of  world-wide  benefi- 
cence, were  for  the  Gentiles  also.  His  personal  ministry  was 
restricted  to  the  Jews.  We  have  no  account  of  his  leaving  his 
native  country  more  than  once,  going  then  into  the  frontier 
of  Tyre  and  Sidon.  He  cured,  so  far  as  is  known,  only  two 
heathen  patients,  —  the  servant  of  the  centurion,  and  the 
daughter  of  the  Syrophcenician  woman.  His  original  commis- 
sion to  the  twelve  followed  the  line  of  a  strict  particularism : 
'"  Go  not  into  the  way  of  the  Gentiles,  and  into  any  city  of  the 
Samaritans  enter  ye  not :  but  go  rather  to  the  lost  sheep  of 
the  house  of  Israel"  (Matt.  x.  5,  6).  To  the  woman  of  Canaan, 
who  besought  him  to  heal  her  daughter,  he  announced  the  limi- 
tation which  was  laid  on  his  mission,  before  he  yielded  to  her 
entreaty :  "  I  am  not  sent  but  unto  the  lost  sheep  of  the  house 
of  Israel"  (Matt.  xv.  24).     "Let  the  children  first  be  filled: 

1  Kurtz:  Old  Gov.,  i.  p.  118. 


CATHOLICITY  OF  THE   GOSPEL.  181 

for  it  is  not  meet  to  take  the  children's  bread,  and  to  cast  it 
unto  the  dogs"  (Mark  vii.  27).  But  while  his  personal  minis- 
try was  to  the  Jews,  he  made  it  plain  that  his  salvation  was 
intended  for  the  Gentiles  as  well.  In  him  the  particular  was 
to  give  place  to  the  catholic  or  oecumenical.  This  is  indicated 
in  the  visit  which  he  made  to  a  pagan  land ;  in  the  miracles  by 
which  he  healed  the  servant  of  the  centurion,  and  the  daughter 
of  the  woman  of  Canaan ;  and  in  the  recognition  which  he 
gave  to  the  faith  of  both.  To  one  he  said,  "  O  woman,  great 
is  thy  faith ; "  to  the  other,  "  I  have  not  found  so  great  faith, 
no,  not  in  Israel."  In  his  visit  to  Samaria  he  reveals  more 
clearly  his  gracious  purposes  towards  the  outcast  races.  His 
journey  was  premeditated  ;  "  he  must  needs  go  through 
Samaria."  There  he  wrought  a  miracle  ;  he  told  the  woman 
at  the  well  all  that  ever  she  had  done ;  he  spent  two  days  in 
the  city  preaching  his  gospel ;  he  enabled  and  persuaded  many 
of  the  people  to  receive  him  as  the  Messiah.  He  provided 
in  these  first  converts  the  materials  for  the  future  church  in 
Samaria,  and  cheered  his  disciples  with  the  assurance  of  a 
speedy  ingathering  of  souls  there ;  "  for,"  said  he,  "  the  fields 
are  already  white  for  the  harvest."  Nor  did  he  forget  in  the 
training  of  the  twelve  his  purpose  to  remove,  before  he  should 
leave  the  world,  all  restrictions  from  the  sphere  of  his  saving 
grace,  and  to  give  it  a  world-wide  expansion.  Very  early  in 
his  ministry  he  called  the  attention  of  his  disciples  to  the  faith 
of  the  centurion,  and  declared  that  many  should  come  from  the 
four  quarters  of  the  globe,  and  sit  down  with  the  three  old 
patriarchs  in  the  kingdom  of  heaven,  while  the  apostate  Jcavs 
should  be  cast  out  into  outer  darkness-  (Matt.  viii.  11).  If  the 
disciples  forgot  his  words,  he  did  not ;  for  two  years  later  he 
repeated  them  with  added  emphasis  (Luke  xiii.  29).  Within 
a  few  months  before  his  death,  being  at  Jerusalem,  he  said, 
"  I  lay  down  my  life  for  the  sheep.  And  other  sheep  I  have, 
which  are  not  of  this  fold :  them  also  I  must  bring,  and  they 
shall  hear  my  voice  "  (John  x.  15,  16).  During  the  last  pass- 
over  week  he  said  to  the  Jews,  that  the  kingdom  should  be 
taken  from  them,  and  given  to  another  nation  (Matt.  xxi.  43). 


182  SACRED  HISTORY. 

The  plan  which  he  adopted  for  the  accomplishment  of  his 
purpose  was  sovereign  and  timely.  Before  his  death  he  sent 
no  mission  to  the  heathen,  he  organized  no  Christian  church, 
he  revealed  no  complete  system  of  saving  knowledge  ;  for  the 
reason  that  every  thing  of  this  kind  was  to  rest  on  his  atoning 
death.  But  in  the  twelve  he  founded  a  missionary  society  and 
an  organizing  body ;  them  also  he  informed  into  the  first  prin- 
ciples of  the  gospel,  and  prepared  them  to  receive  from  the 
Holy  Spirit,  and  to  communicate  to  mankind  orally  and  in 
writing,  the  final  form  of  Christian  doctrine.  This  being  done, 
he  purchased  by  his  death  the  salvation  of  the  world.  At  his 
ascension  he  removed  all  the  old  traditional  restrictions,  and 
opened  wide  the  channels  through  which  Divine  grace  might 
flow  unto  all  nations  through  the  ages.  He  commanded  his 
disciples  to  go  into  all  the  world,  and  to  preach  the  gospel  to 
every  creature.  The  order  in  which  they  were  to  proceed  was 
laid  down.  They  were  to  begin  at  Jerusalem,  and  go  thence 
to  Judaea,  to  Samaria,  and  to  the  uttermost  parts  of  the  earth. 
With  the  commission  they  received  power  from  on  high,  the 
baptism  of  the  Holy  Ghost.  Chrysostom  notes,  with  apparent 
surprise,  the  contrast  between  this  command,  and  the  original 
commission  forbidding  the  twelve  to  go  in  the  way  of  the 
Gentiles  and  into  any  town  of  the  Samaritans  (Matt.  x.  5,  6). 
The  explanation  is  before  us :  The  particular,  which  was 
established  in  Abraham,  and  which  was  the  rule  of  Christ's 
personal  ministry,  had  given  place  to  the  universal,  which  was 
declared  once  for  all  in  the  final  apostolical  commission.  The 
subject,  examined  from  this  point  of  view,  gives  answer  to  an 
objection  wliich  may  be  urged  against  the  Divine  origin  of 
Judaism.  It  is  not  credible  (such  is  the  adverse  suggestion) 
that  the  Almighty  would  for  so  many  ages  restrict  the  revela- 
tion of  saving  knowledge  and  the  ordinance  of  holy  worship  to 
one  people, — a  people  insignificant  in  number,  and  undeserv- 
ing of  God's  favor,  as  their  books  openly  declare;  inferior  in 
science,  art,  and  culture,  and  encamped  on  the  edge  of  Asia 
Minor.  To  this  the  word  of  God  replies  that  Judaism,  in  the 
Divine  purpose,  contemplated  as  its  predestinated  end  the  sal- 


JUDAISM  PROVISIONAL,  NOT  FINAL.  183 

vation  of  the  entire  family  of  man.  In  its  nature  it  was  a 
particular,  not  an  exclusive,  system.  Judaism  was  meant  to  be, 
and  in  fact  was,  strictly  provisional  and  temporary.  It  was 
established,  not  for  itself,  but  for  the  introduction  of  a  broader 
and  better  dispensation ;  and  the  final  cause  of  its  existence 
was  the  preparation  and  offer  of  salvation  to  all  the  people  that 
dwelt  on  earth.  The  objection  as  against  modern  Judaism, 
which  declares  itself  to  be  a  finality,  is  unanswerable ;  as 
against  revealed  religion,  the  religion  of  the  Old  Testament, 
it  has  no  validity.  God's  word  explains  the  Judaism  of  Moses 
and  Isaiah  in  all  its  intents  and  purposes.  The  real  significance 
of  particularism  is,  shortly,  this :  narrow  institutions,  world-wide 
promises.  The  whole  scheme  of  Providence  in  this  sphere  may 
be  summed  up  in  three  sentences :  First,  general,  through  two 
thousand  years,  until  the  calling  of  Abraham ;  then  particular, 
two  thousand,  until  the  coming  of  Christ ;  then  general  again, 
many  thousand,  until  the  second  coming.  It  explains  the 
parable  of  the  mustard-seed,  —  in  the  sowing,  the  least  of  all 
seeds ;  in  the  growth,  the  greatest  of  herbs. 


184 


SACBED  HISTORY. 


CHAPTER    XIII. 

CALL   OF   ABEAM. 


CHRONOLOGY   OF   ABRAM. 


{After  Usher.) 

B.C. 

Age. 

1996 

Born  at  Ur. 

1923 

The  call 

73 

1921 

Arrival  at  Shechem  . 

75 

Gen 

xii.  4 

1920 

Went  to  Egypt  .... 

.      76 

1918 

Returned  to  Canaan . 

.      78 

1917 

Lot  went  to  Sodom    . 

79 

1913 

Slaughter  of  the  kings 

83 

1913 

First  stage  of  the  covenant 

83 

1910 

Ishmael  born     .... 

86 

xvi. 

3,16. 

1898 

Second  stage  of  the  covenant    . 

99 

xvii. 

1-16. 

1898 

Cities  of  the  plain  destroyed     . 

99 

1898 

Gerar  and  Abimelech 

99 

1897 

Isaac  born 

100 

xxi. 

5. 

1892 

Ishmael  cast  out 

105 

1872 

Isaac  sacrificed.     The  oath 

125 

1872 

The  covenant  confirmed    . 

125 

1860 

Sarah  died,  aged  127  years 

137 

xxiii 

.1,2. 

1857 

Isaac  married    .... 

140 

1853 

Abram  married  Keturah  . 

144 

1822 

He  died 

175 

XXV. 

7. 

Note. — The  inaccuracies  in  Usher's  genealogy  do  not  wholly  destroy  its  value. 
Exact  dates  are  of  little  importance  compared  with  the  sequence  of  events,  and 
the  sequence  of  events  is  maintained  in  all  the  genealogies. 

Gex.  xii.  1-3.  —  At  the  point  in  time  about  midway  from 
the  creation  to  the  incarnation,  a  Shemite  family  left  Ur  of  the 
Chaldees,  east  of  the  Euphrates,  and  removed  to  Haran.     The 


THE  MOST  ILLUSTRIOUS  NAME.  185 

head  of  the  family  was  Terah.  He  took  with  him  Abram  his 
youngest  son,  Sarai  his  daiigliter  (who  Avas  also  the  half-sister 
and  wife  of  Abram),  and  Lot  his  grandson.  Lot's  father  Haran, 
Terah's  eldest  son,  was  dead.  This  emigration  was  secured  by 
the  command  of  God  requiring  Abram  to  go  to  another  land 
(Acts  vii.  3).  Although  this  command  was  addressed  to 
Abram,  yet  Terah,  true  to  the  instincts  of  an  aged  father, 
undertook  the  journey  with  his  son.  The  emigrants  remained 
in  Haran  until  the  death  of  Terah,  when  Abram,  now  the 
patriarch  of  the  family,  took  with  him  Sarai  and  Lot,  his  ser- 
vants and  his  movable  property,  and  set  out  for  the  land  of 
Canaan. 

Mention  is  here  made,  for  the  first  time,  of  the  most  illustri- 
ous name  in  the  Old  Testament.  The  prominence  given  to 
Abraham  in  the  record  appears  in  the  space  afforded  to  his 
biography,  in  the  frequent  recurrence  of  his  name,  in  the  titles 
of  honor  applied  to  him,  and  in  his  position  in  the  genealogies. 
The  history  of  the  world  for  the  first  two  thousand  years  is 
condensed  into  eleven  chapters  of  Genesis,  but  the  personal 
history  of  Abraham  fills  fourteen  chapters  of  the  book  ;  and 
all  the  following  scriptures  are  occupied  by  the  unfolding  of 
the  Divine  purpose,  the  rudiments  of  which  were  revealed  to  the 
great  patriarch.  Next,  the  name  of  Adam  occurs  eleven  times 
in  both  Testaments ;  the  name  of  Noah  twenty  times ;  but  that 
of  Abraham  is  mentioned  in  about  one  hundred  and  twenty 
places,  —  these  places  being  distributed  not  unequally  through- 
out the  entire  scriptures.  Again,  terms  of  the  highest  rev- 
erence are  applied  to  him.  Ab  is  equivalent  to  "father," 
Abram  to  "  high  father,"  and  Abraham  to  "  the  father  of  many 
nations"  (Gen.  xvii.  5).  He  is  called  the  friend  of  God  by 
historian,  prophet,  and  apostle  (2  Chron.  xx.  7 ;  Isa.  xli.  8  ;  Jas. 
ii.  23).  Paul  styles  him  "our  father  Abraham,"  "the  father 
of  all  them  that  believed,"  and  "faithful  Abraham."  Christ 
describes  "  Abraham's  bosom  "  as  the  heavenly  rest.  Further, 
the  tables  of  genealogy  and  chronology  in  the  antecedent  his- 
tory terminate  with  his  name  ;  and  the  tables  M'hich  follow 
in  ]\Ios8S,  in    the  Chronicles,  and    in   the   Gospels,  take  their 


186  SACRED  HISTORY. 

departure  from  liim  or  from  Adam,  and  make  their  way  through 
the  ages  to  David,  and  through  David  and  his  royal  line  to 
Christ. 

The  ground  of  this  pre-eminence  is  laid  in  the  Divine  call 
addressed  to  Abram,  personally,  by  Jehovah.  Stephen  said 
that  the  patriarch  received  the  communication  from  the  "  God 
of  glory,  appearing  to  him  when  he  was  in  Mesopotamia,  before 
he  dwelt  in  Haran "  (Acts  vii.  2).  The  word  of  Jehovah 
was,  "  Get  thee  out  of  thy  country,  and  from  thy  kindred, 
and  from  thy  father's  house,  unto  a  land  that  I  will  show 
thee :  and  I  will  make  of  thee  a  great  nation,  and  I  will 
bless  thee,  and  make  thy  name  great ;  and  thou  shalt  be  a 
blessing:  and  I  will  bless  them  that  bless  thee,  and  curse 
him  that  curseth  thee :  and  in  thee  shall  all  families  of  the 
earth  be  blessed"  (Gen.  xii.  1-3).  This  is,  undoubtedly,  the  key 
to  the  biography  of  Abram,  and  to  the  subsequent  history 
of  redemption. 

Upon  its  face  the  communication  conveyed  a  Divine  vocation 
to  Abram.  According  to  Moses,  "The  Lord  had  said  unto 
him,"  etc.  According  to  Stephen,  "  The  God  of  glory  appeared 
unto  him,  and  said.  Get  thee  out  of  thy  country,"  etc.  He 
was  not,  as  some  have  thought,  a  Bedouin  sheik,  leaving  the 
insufficient  pastures  and  water-springs  of  Mesopotamia,  and 
wandering  with  his  flocks  as  far  as  Canaan  in  search  of  fresher 
fields  and  more  redundant  fountains ;  nor  was  he  drawn  away 
from  home  by  the  love  of  adventure  or  the  impulses  of  a  roving 
disposition.  He  was  not  a  fugitive  from  justice  or  oppression, 
nor  a  refugee  from  the  ruins  of  a  falling  kingdom  or  the  terrors 
of  civil  war.  His  journey  was  undertaken  at  the  command  of 
God.  When  he  was  called,  he  went  out,  not  knowing  whither 
he  went.  Not  only  was  his  immediate  vocation  Divine,  but  it 
was  answerable  to  a  revelation  made  to  Noah  nearly  four  hun- 
dred years  before,  showing  that  the  blessings  promised  in  the 
first  gospel  were  to  come  in  the  posterity  of  Shem ;  and, 
according  to  the  register  in  Gen.  xi.,  Abram  was  the  tenth 
from  Shem. 

The  call  was  Divine  not  only,  but  was  sovereign  also.     Why 


TEE  ERA   OF  TIIEOPIIAKIES  BEGUN.     ,  187 

Abram  was  chosen  rather  than  a  Melchizedek,  if  such  there 
was  among  the  Shemites,  does  not  appear.  Why  he  was  chosen 
rather  than  Terah  his  father,  or  Nahor  his  brother,  or  Lot  his 
nephew,  is  not  explained.  Terah,  his  father,  was  an  idolater. 
If  in  early  life  Abram  served  other  gods,  —  which  is  an  open 
question, — his  idolatry  furnished  no  reason  why  he  should  be 
chosen  out  of  the  mass  of  the  Chaldsean  pagans  to  become  the 
father  of  the  faithful.  If  he  was  from  his  youth  a  worshipper 
of  the  true  God,  his  piety  was  a  Divine  gift,  and  could  not  be 
the  meritorious  cause  of  his  vocation.  His  moral  qualities, 
even  his  generosity,  courage,  and  hospitality,  his  obedience 
and  faith,  gave  him  a  place  among  the  heroes  of  the  Old  Testa- 
ment. But  none  of  these  virtues  explain  his  call.  Their  exist- 
ence in  him  is  to  be  accounted  for  by  the  circumstance  that  God 
first  appointed  him  to  his  exalted  position,  and  then  qualified 
him  for  its  duties  by  the  proper  gifts  and  graces.  His  vocation 
was  sovereign,  both  because  he  was  chosen  for  reasons  not 
revealed,  and  because  these  reasons  were  in  God,  not  originall}^ 
in  him.  His  vocation  was  not  only  Divine,  but  it  was  conveyed 
to  him  through  august  theophanies. 

The  term  "  theophany  "  is  derived  from  the  Greek  (^ew^ai/a'a), 
and  is  applied  to  the  appearance  of  the  God  of  glory  to  the 
senses  of  men.  This  manifestation  was  made  supernatural  to 
Abram  in  the  vision,  or  in  the  trance,  or  in  a  bodily  form 
assumed  by  Jehovah.  Moses  wrote,  "  The  word  of  Jehovah 
came  unto  Abram  in  a  vision ; "  "  And  Jehovah  appeared  to 
him  in  the  plains  of  Mamre ;  and  he  sat  in  the  tent  door  in 
the  heat  of  the  day"  (Gen.  xv.  1,  xviii.  1).  Stephen  said, 
"  The  God  of  glory  appeared  unto  our  father  Abraham  when 
he  was  in  Mesopotamia."  Stephen  used  w^^r;,  "  appeared."  For 
the  meaning  of  the  word  we  refer  to  Acts  ii.  3:  "And  there 
appeared  ^ojcfiOrja-av']  unto  them  cloven  tongues  like  as  of  fire, 
and  it  sat  upon  each  of  them."  So  also  the  Lord  Jesus  re- 
vealed his  glory  visibly  to  Stephen  at  his  martyrdom,  and  to 
Paul  at  his  conversion.  The  call  of  Abram  may  be  treated  as 
llie  opening  of  the  theophanic  era;  an  era  which  culminated 
with  the  incarnation  and  life  on  earth  of  the  Son  of  God.     The 


188  SACRED  HISTORY. 

sensible  manifestations  of  God  to  Abram  are  ten  in  number, 
and  occurred  as  follows:  — 

1.  In  Mesopotamia.     Acts  vii.  2;      5.  Mamre.     Gen.  xvii.  1. 

Gen.  xii.  1.  6.  Mamre.     Gen.  xviii.  1. 

2.  Shechem.     Gen.  xii.  7.  7.  Mamre.     Gen.  xxi.  12. 

3.  Bethel.     Gen.  xiii.  14.  8.  Mamre.     Gen.  xxii.  1. 

4.  Mamre.     Gen.  xv.  1.  ,       9.  Mount  Moriah.     Gen.  xxii.  11. 

10.  Mount  Moriah.     Gen.  xxii,  15. 

These  api^earances  give  unusual  weight  to  the  contents  of 
the  revelations  made  to  Abram,  both  to  the  commands  and 
promises  contained  in  them. 

The  first  word  in  the  command  was  a  mandate  of  expatria- 
tion :  "  Get  thee  out  of  thy  country."  Paul  remarks  that  "  he 
went  out,  not  knowing  whither  he  went "  (Heb.  xi.  8).  The 
important  fact  is  that  he  went  into  perpetual  exile  from  his 
native  land.  The  first  settlement  of  the  English  colonists  at 
Jamestown  and  Plymouth  resembles  the  migration  of  Abram, 
except  for  his  entire  ignorance  of  the  name  of  the  country 
whither  he  was  to  go.  Colonization^  which  was  so  conspicuous 
in  the  history  of  the  Japhetic  peoples  and  the  Phoenician  branch 
of  Ham's  family,  was  foreign  to  the  habits  and  traditions  of 
the  Semitic  tribes.  The  Chaldsean  shepherds,  guided  by  the 
stars,  led  their  flocks  over  distant  ranges  of  pasture-grounds. 
Their  warriors,  impelled  by  the  thirst  for  plunder  and  revenge, 
carried  their  arms,  even  before  the  call  of  Abram,  as  far  as 
Southern  Palestine.  Of  these  warlike  expeditions  a  ready 
example  appears  in  the  expedition  of  Chedorlaomer  and  his 
allies,  petty  kings  in  the  region  of  the  Euphrates,  occupying 
the  lower  Jordan,  and  reducing  the  cities  there  to  vassalage 
(Gen.  xiv.).  But  the  shepherds  returned  from  their  wander- 
ings, and  the  Bedouin  robbers  from  their  raids,  to  the  tents 
of  their  wives  and  children.  Their  habitual  inertness  and  con- 
tentment, their  virtues,  such  as  they  were,  and  their  vices  also, 
rooted  them  to  their  native  regions.  But  Abram  was  required 
to  abandon  all  the  affiliations  of  race  and  of  home-life,  and 
to  quit  forever  his  native  land.     With  expatriation,  its  usual 


ABRAHAM'S  ISOLATION.  189 

concomitants  came  to  him  and  his  posterity,  —  new  usages  and 
habits  of  life,  a  new  type  of  civilization,  and,  what  was  the 
leading  feature  in  his  experience,  a  new  religion. 

Closely  allied  to  the  expatriation  of  the  patriarch  was  the 
process  of  segregation.  He  was  directed  to  separate  himself 
not  only  from  his  country,  but  from  the  closer  ties  of  life,  his 
"kindred,  and  his  father's  house."  A  strict  segregation  was 
exacted  of  him.  At  his  departure  from  Ur  of  the  Chaldees,  he 
took  with  him  none  of  his  family  except  his  father,  his  wife, 
Lot  his  nephew,  and  Lot's  wife,  bidding  adieu  forever  to  the 
great  body  of  his  kindred.  He  remained  at  Haran,  —  a  city 
a  few  days'  journey  north  of  Canaan,  —  until  the  death  of 
Terah  severed  the  last  link  that  bound  him  to  his  native  land 
(Acts  vii.  4).  Not  long  after  their  arrival  in  Canaan,  a  quarrel 
among  the  herdsmen  led  to  the  final  separation  of  Lot  from  the 
chosen  family.  The  isolation  of  Abram  was  now  complete.  He 
and  his  wife,  with  their  servants,  were  alone  in  the  land.  His 
wandering  life,  bringing  him  successively  to  Shechem,  Bethel, 
Hebron,  Egypt,  Gerar,  Beersheba,  and  back  to  Hebron,  together 
with  his  way  of  worship,  precluded  any  enduring  intimacy 
between  himself  and  the  Canaanites.  Further,  the  difficulties 
in  which  he  became  involved  with  Pharaoh  and  Abimelech, 
banished  him  from  their  domains.  And,  still  further,  when  he 
went  into  Canaan  he  had  no  children.  Then,  finally,  his  son 
Ishmael,  when  he  was  grown,  was  separated  from  the  chosen 
famil}',  and  banished  to  the  desert  toward  the  south;  and  the 
children  of  Keturah,  Abram 's  last  wife,  were  sent  away  "  east- 
ward into  the  east  country"  (Gen.  xxv.).  Nothing  is  more 
remarkable  in  the  dealings  of  God  with  the  patriarch,  than  the 
rigor  with  which  the  law  of  isolation  was  applied  to  his  imme- 
diate family;  unless  it  be  the  strictness  with  which  it  was  after- 
wards enforced  on  the  patriarchs  descending  from  him,  and 
finally  on  the  nation  of  Israel.  The  Almighty  having  given 
these  two  commands  to  his  servant,  encouraged  his  obedience 
by  a  series  of  promises,  six  in  number. 

This  is  the  first :  "  I  will  make  thee  exceeding  fruitful,  and 
I  will  make  nations  of  thee,  and  kings  shall  come  out  of  thee  " 


190  SACEED  HISTORY. 

(Gen.  xvii.  6).  The  patriarch  entered  Canaan  childless,  and 
without  expectation  of  offspring.  At  his  death  he  left  behind 
him,  in  Ishmael,  the  progenitor  of  twelve  princes,  and  of  as 
many  powerful  tribes ;  and  in  the  seven  sons  of  Keturah,  the 
ancestors  of  numerous  and  warlike  peoples  in  Arabia.  The 
famous  kings  and  nations  which  descended  from  him,  through 
Isaac  and  Jacob,  were  also  held  within  the  compass  of  the 
jDromise.  The  kingdom  of  David  was  the  nation,  and  his  suc- 
cessors on  the  throne  of  Judah  were  the  kings.  The  nation 
was  populous,  wealthy,  and  warlike.  It  was  a  wise  and  intelli- 
gent people,  a  great  commonwealth,  having  Jehovah  for  its  God 
and  King,  and  Divine  statutes  and  judgments  for  its  constitu- 
tion (Deut.  iv.  6-8).  The  same  promise  embraces  also  the 
illustrious  and  world-wide  kingdom  of  Christ ;  its  everlasting 
King  being  a  direct  descendant  of  Abraham,  and  its  innumerable 
subjects  being  also  his  spiritual  children. 

The  second  promise  is,  "  I  will  bless  thee."  The  nature  and 
extent  of  this  blessing  are  explained.  The  servants  born  in  his 
house  furnished  him  with  three  hundred  and  eighteen  fighting 
men ;  suggesting  fifteen  hundred  as  an  estimate  of  the  total 
number  of  his  servants  of  both  sexes  and  all  ages.  By  the 
blessing  of  God  going  with  him,  he  routed  the  armies  of  the 
confederate  kings  from  the  east  who  had  invaded  Palestine, 
and  had  carried  off  Lot  and  the  women  and  the  plunder  (Gen. 
xiv.  13-16).  His  wealth  also  increased:  "He  was  very  rich 
in  cattle,  silver,  and  gold."  And  as  the  crown  ©f  his  temporal 
blessings,  God  gave  to  him  a  son  in  his  marriage  with  Sarah, 
and  spared  the  boy  when  bound  upon  the  altar.  Abram  enjoyed 
length  of  days ;  he  lived  to  the  good  old  age  of  a  hundred  and 
seventy-five  years.  And  more  than  all,  God  bestowed  upon 
him  the  consummate  spiritual  blessing  of  justification  by  faith, 
a  free,  gratuitous,  and  irrevocable  gift,  together  with  all  the 
benefits  which  flow  therefrom  in  this  life  and  the  life  to  come. 
Towards  the  close  of  the  narrative,  the  writer  sums  it  all  up  in 
terms  responsive  to  the  original  promise:  "Abraham  was  old, 
and  well  stricken  in  age :  and  the  Lord  had  blessed  Abraham 
in  all  things"  (Gen.  xxiv.  1). 


THEOPnANIC  PROMISES  FULFILLED.  191 

Thirdly,  God  said,  "I  will  make  thy  name  great."  The 
position  accorded  to  this  man  in  the  written  history,  and  the 
unwritten  traditions  of  the  Oriental  races,  illustrates  and  makes 
good  this  promise.  The  cheeks  of  the  Jews  mantled  with 
pride  when  they  exclaimed,  "  We  have  Abraham  to  our  father." 
According  to  Josephus,  he  is  reverenced  by  the  Chaldeeans  as 
their  teacher  in  monotheism ;  and  by  the  Egyptians,  as  their 
teacher  in  mathematics  and  astronomy.  Nichalaus,  the  histo- 
rian of  Syria,  says  that  he  reigned  a  long  time  at  Damascus  on 
his  way,  at  the  head  of  an  army,  from  Chaldsea  to  Canaan.^ 
The  Koran  abounds  in  tributes  of  respect  to  his  memory,  and 
in  traditions  of  his  piety  and  wisdom.  The  natives  of  Orfa  — 
a  town  claiming,  although  on  insufficient  grounds,  to  be  the 
ancient  Ur  of  the  Chaldees  —  still  repeat  his  story ;  and  among 
the  cypresses  which  shade  the  sacred  pool  of  Callirhoe,  the 
beautiful  spring,  they  point  to  the  spot  where,  as  they  flatter 
themselves,  he  offered  his  first  prayer  to  the  living  God. 
Hebron  to  this  day  bears  the  name  of  El  Khulil,  The  Friend, 
in  honor  of  Abraham ;  and  the  inhabitants  identify  the  vener- 
able oak,  Sindian,  under  which  he  pitched  his  tent,  and  the 
tomb  in  which  he  was  buried.  Moreover,  the  increasing  cir- 
culation of  the  Scriptures  throughout  all  the  ages,  and  in  all 
lands,  is  giving  to  the  patriarch  a  world-wide  reputation. 
Most  illustrious,  also,  is  his  name  as  the  father  of  the  faithful. 
No  honors  can  exceed  the  honors  which  Jew,  Mohammedan,  and 
Christian,  at  variance  in  almost  every  other  habit  of  thought, 
unite  in  paying  to  the  imperishable  memory  of  Abraham. 

"And  thou  shalt  be  a  blessing,"  was  the  fourth  of  the  six 
promises.  He  was  a  public  and  representative  person ;  the 
channel  through  which  the  Divine  mercies  flowed  to  others. 
He  was  the  founder  of  a  new  race.  Ten  theophanies  were 
granted  to  him,  communicating  saving  knowledge  to  himself 
and  his  posterity.  God  entered  into  everlasting  covenant  with 
him  for  his  seed  after  him,  and  he  received  for  himself  and  all 
his  posterity  the  sacramental  seal  of  the  covenant.  To  them 
also  was  given,  through  him,  the  land  of  promise.  In  his  family 
1  Joseplius:  Antiquities,  vol.  i,  vii.  2. 


192  SACRED  HISTORY. 

the  Church  of  God  was  founded,  to  be  perpetuated  forever.    He 
M-as  both  blessed  in  his  own  j)erson,  and  a  blessing  to  others. 

In  the  fifth  promise,  Jehovah  declares  that  he  will  take  as 
personal  to  himself  the  treatment  which  Abram  should  receive 
from  his  friends  and  enemies ;  "  I  will  bless  them  that  bless 
thee,  and  curse  him  that  curseth  thee."  The  words  "  curse  " 
and  "  curse  thee "  in  this  place  are  equivalents  of  different 
Hebrew  words,  and  signify,  the  first  a  judicial  malediction  on 
the  part  of  the  Almighty,  and  the  last  a  blasphemous  cnrsing 
on  the  part  of  Abram's  enemies.  Keil  calls  attention  to  the 
plural  "  them  "  as  used  in  connection  with  the  blessing,  and 
the  singular  "  him "  as  used  in  connection  with  the  cursing ; 
intimating  that  there  will  be  many  to  bless  Abram  and  his  seed, 
while  only  here  and  there  one  will  return  curses  for  blessings. 
It  should  be  noticed,  also,  that  Jehovah  does  not  authorize  the 
patriarch  to  return  cursing  for  cursing.  The  word  going  just 
before  is,  "  thou  shalt  be  a  blessing ; "  and  the  word  immedi- 
ately following  is,  "  in  thee  shall  all  families  of  the  earth  be 
blessed."  Vengeance  belongs  to  God,  the  holy  Judge  and 
Avenger ;  to  his  chosen  people  it  belongs  not  to  curse,  but  to 
bless  mankind.  Further,  Abram  stands  here  not  as  an  individ- 
ual, but  as  the  representative  of  God's  people,  and  the  vehicle 
of  salvation  to  this  world ;  and  he  who  curses  that  man  is  an 
enemy  of  both  God  and  man.  Conspicuous  instances  in  which 
God  punished  those  who  maltreated  his  old  servant  are  recorded. 
When  Pharaoh,  and  afterwards  Abimelech,  were  about  to  take 
Sarah  away  from  her  husband,  the  Almighty  protected  her 
honor  by  sending  plagues  into  the  family  of  Pharaoh,  and 
threatening  Abimelech  with  death.  The  later  scriptures  relate 
how  God,  true  to  his  promise,  was  favorable  to  the  lands  that 
were  favorable  to  Israel,  and  how  he  hurled  back  on  hostile 
kingdoms  the  wrongs  which  they  attempted  to  inflict  on  his  own 
chosen  people.  Egypt,  Moab,  Edom,  Syria,  Assyria,  Persia, 
Philistia,  Rome,  suffered,  one  after  another,  the  judgments  of 
God  when  he  arose  to  scatter  the  enemies  of  his  chosen  people. 
The  humiliation  into  which  the  Almighty  brought  the  heathen 
powers  is  well  set  forth  in  the  shame  of  Moab  and  Amnion. 


ALL  NATION'S   BLESSED.  193 

Ephraim  is  the  stronghold  of  Israel,  and  Judah  wields  the  sceptre; 
while  Moab  is  the  foot-tub  of  Israel,  and  Edom  is  the  servant 
to  whom  his  master  flings  his  shoes  to  be  cleaned  (Ps.  Ix.  7,  8). 
The  consummate  blessing  is  thus  described :  "  In  thee  shall 
all  families  of  the  earth  be  blessed."  The  Apostle  Paul  de- 
clared, in  terms,  that  these  words  point  directly  to  the  spread 
of  the  gospel  among  the  heathen :  "  And  the  scripture,  fore- 
seeing that  God  would  justify  the  heathen  through  faith, 
preached  before  the  gospel  unto  Abraham,  saying,  In  thee 
shall  all  nations  be  blessed  "  (Gal.  iii.  8).  In  Rom.  iv.  16,  17, 
Paul  puts  the  same  sense  upon  the  words,  "  I  have  made  thee 
a  father  of  many  nations ; "  the  nations  are  the  redeemed. 
Some  interpreters  suggest  that  the  expression  "all  families  of 
the  earth "  should  be  read  "  all  families  of  the  ground ; "  that 
the  word  "  families  "  points  to  the  confusion  of  tongues,  and  the 
word  "  ground  "  points  to  the  curse  pronounced  on  the  ground 
(Gen.  iii.  17).  From  this  it  is  inferred,  that  the  blessing  of 
Abraham  is  the  antithesis  of  the  curse  pronounced  at  the  fall 
of  Adam,  on  the  ground ;  and  that,  by  virtue  of  this  blessing, 
the  families  divided  at  Shinar  are  to  be  re-united,  and  the  curse 
is  to  give  place  to  a  blessing  on  the  entire  human  race.  The 
promise  to  Abraham  was  repeatedly  renewed.  At  the  destruc- 
tion of  Sodom,  the  Almighty  admitted  the  patriarch  into  his 
secret  counsels,  because,  said  the  Lord,  "All  the  iMitions  of  the 
earth  shall  be  blessed  in  him."  After  the  sacrifice  of  Isaac, 
Jehovah  said  to  him,  "  In  thy  seed  shall  all  nations  be  blessed." 
Here  the  original  promise,  that  all  nations  should  be  blessed  in 
Abraham,  is  made  definite  by  the  assurance  that  the  blessing 
should  come  in  his  seed  ;  and  that  seed,  in  its  ultimate  and 
consummate  sense,  is  Christ.  Such  is  the  word  of  the  Holy 
Spirit  through  Paul :  "  Now  to  Abraham  and  his  seed  were  the 
promises  made.  He  saith  not.  And  to  seeds,  as  of  many;  but  as 
of  one,  And  to  thy  seed,  which  is  Christ  "  (Gal.  iii.  16).  The 
destinies  of  the  human  race  were  deposited  in  the  person  of 
the  Shemite  from  beyond  the  Euphrates.  The  antecedent  his- 
tory of  the  world  is  but  an  introduction  to  the  Divine  vocation 
witli  which  he  was  honored.     And  the  entire  cycle  of  promises 


194  SACRED  HISTORY. 

made  to  him,  to  the  patriarchs  who  came  after  him,  with  those 
communicated  through  ]\Ioses  and  the  prophets  to  the  chosen 
people,  culminated  in  the  exceeding  great  and  precious  Messi- 
anic blessing.  Thus  the  promise  of  Christ  is  the  key  to  the 
history  of  redemption.  As  given  to  Abram  it  is  commonly 
styled  the  third  Messianic  promise,  the  first  having  been  alread}'' 
bestowed  upon  Adam,  and  the  second  upon  Noah.  It  explains 
with  perfect  lucidity,  and  illuminates  with  ever-growing  bright- 
ness, the  course  of  events  proceeding  from  the  covenant  given 
to  Abram,  —  even  the  subsequent  covenants ;  the  Law  and  the 
Prophets  and  the  Psalms  and  the  Evangelists  ;  the  incarnation, 
death,  and  exaltation  of  Christ ;  the  Pentecost  of  the  Jews ;  the 
Pentecost  of  the  Gentiles  (Acts  x.)  ;  the  labors  of  the  apostles, 
the  testimony  of  the  martyrs  and  confessors;  and  the  world- 
wide spread  of  the  gospel. 


TUREE  PROGRESSIVE   STAGES.  195 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

THE   GIVING   OF   THE  COVENANT. 

It  pleased  God  to  give  to  Abram  the  covenant  of  circum- 
cision. It  is  the  foiirtli  in  the  series  of  covenants  recorded  in 
the  Scriptures ;  the  first  being  the  covenant  of  works  with 
Adam,  the  second  that  of  grace  with  Jesus  Christ,  the  third 
that  of  forbearance  with  Noah,  It  is  the  glory  of  Abram,  that 
he  was  a  party  with  Jehovah  in  one  of  the  everlasting  cove- 
nants. The  provisions  of  this  covenant  are  integral  elements 
in  the  plan  of  redemption.  They  were  executed  by  imposing 
providences ;  they  controlled  the  career  of  the  nations  and 
kings  who  came  out  of  the  loins  of  Abraham  ;  and  they  fur- 
nished the  organic  law  to  the  Jewish  and  to  the  Gospel  Church. 
The  importance  of  the  covenant  is  still  further  indicated  by  the 
vehicles  through  which  it  was  conveyed. 

Ten  theophanies  were  granted  to  the  patriarch.  They  marked 
the  critical  periods  of  his  life  through  half  a  century.  They 
appeared  in  divers  places ;  in  Ur  of  the  Chaldees,  at  Shechem, 
Bethel,  and  iNIamre,  and  in  Mount  Moriah.  The  covenant  with 
Abram  was  given  in  three  of  these  Divine  manifestations.  It 
was  begun  in  the  fourth  theophany  at  Mamre,  was  enlarged  in 
the  fifth  at  j\Iamre  again,  and  was  confirmed  iii  the  tenth  and 
last  on  jMount  Moriah.  According  to-  Usher,,  the  time  that 
elapsed  between  Abram's  departure  out  of  Ur,  to  the  sacrifice 
of  Isaac,  or  the  tenth  theophany,  was  fifty-one  years.  The  his- 
tory of  the  giving  of  the  covenant  naturally  distributes  itself 
into  three  periods:  — 

I.  From  Abram's  departure  out  of  Ur,  to  the  first  stage  of 
the  covenant;  ten  years. 


196  SACRED  UISTORY. 

II.  From  the  first  to  the  second  stage  of  the  covenant ;  fifteen 
years. 

III.  From  the  second  stage  of  the  covenant,  to  its  final  ratifi- 
cation in  tlie  theophany  of  tlie  oatli ;  twenty-six  years. 

Period  I. :  Gen.  xii.-xiv.  —  This  period  begins  witli  the 
migration  of  Terah  to  Haran,  and  his  death,  whereby  Abram 
was  finally  separated  from  his  conntry  and  his  kindred  and  his 
father's  house.  Shortly  afterwards  the  chosen  family  arrived 
at  Shechem,  and  the  second  theophany  informed  Abram  that 
he  had  reached  the  promised  land.  There  he  built  his  first 
altar.  From  Shechem  he  went  southward  to  Bethel,  and  there 
he  built  another  altar.  Under  the  stress  of  famine  he  went  into 
Egypt,  where,  according  to  Usher,  he  resided  two  years.  Pos- 
sibly, though  nothing  of  the  kind  is  intimated  in  the  record, 
Abram  may  have  purposed  to  abandon  Canaan,  a  region  smitten 
with  famine,  and  make  his  future  home  in  fertile  Egypt.  But 
he  had  passed  off  Sarai  as  his  sister,  not  his  wife,  lest  the  king 
might  take  her  and  put  him  to  death.  She  was  seized,  and 
transferred  to  the  harem.  In  punishment  of  the  indignity, 
Jehovah  sent  pestilence  into  the  royal  family.  Pharaoh  soon 
detected  the  fraud  which  liad  been  practised  upon  him,  sharply 
reproved  Abram,  and  sent  him  out  of  the  kingdom  with  all  his 
family  and  possessions.  Soon  after  his  return  to  Bethel,  Lot 
separated  himself,  and  in  himself  his  posterity,  from  the  chosen 
family,  and  removed  to  Sodom.  The  distress  of  Abram  at  the 
loss  of  his  nephew  gave  occasion  for  the  third  theophany,  con- 
veying to  him  and  his  posterity  the  whole  of  the  fertile  and 
beautiful  region  which  was  in  sight  from  the  heights  near 
Bethel,  and  all  that  could  be  seen  in  an  exploration  of  the 
country.  To  this  gift  was  added  the  assurance  that  his  pos- 
terity should  be  like  the  dust  of  the  earth,  innumerable.  From 
Bethel,  Abram  removed  his  caravan  about  thirty  miles  south- 
ward to  Hebron,  in  the  plain  of  Mamre,  a  picturesque  region 
opening  down  upon  the  pasture-land  of  Beersheba.  Here  a  few 
years  later  he  became  the  subject  of  a  unique  experience. 

Gen.  xiv. —  Fourteen  years  before  Abram's  arrival  at  She- 
chem, Chedorlaomer,  a  warlike  prince  east  of  the  Euphrates,  had 


CHEDOBLAOMER  AND  MELCHIZEDEK.  197 

formed  an  alliance  with  the  sheiks  of  the  neighboring  tribes, 
marched  upon  the  plain  of  the  Jordan  near  the  Dead  Sea,  and 
subjected  the  cities  to  the  payment  of  an  annual  tribute.  In 
the  thirteenth  year  of  this  vassalage,  the  cities  attempted  to 
throw  off  the  Assyrian  yoke.  Chedorlaomer,  with  his  allies, 
undertook  a  new  expedition  into  Canaan.  The  kings  of  the 
four  principal  cities  of  the  plain  gave  battle  to  the  invaders ; 
but  they  lost  the  day,  and  with  it  their  lives.  The  enemy  rav- 
aged the  cities,  and  departed  laden  with  plunder,  and  carrying 
off  the  women  with  the  leading  people,  among  whom  was  Lot. 
A  refugee  from  Sodom  brought  the  news  to  Abram,  then  en- 
camped not  far  away  at  Hebron.  The  patriarch  instantly 
gathered  a  force  of  three  hundred  and  eighteen  fighting  men 
of  his  own  household,  together  with  warriors  furnished  by  his 
neighbors.  He  pursued  the  retreating  Assyrians,  overtook  them 
at  Dan,  one  hundred  and  twenty  miles  distant,  fell  upon  them 
when  they  were  sleeping  in  the  dead  of  night,  put  them  to 
flight,  and  chased  them  about  eighty  miles  to  Hobah,  a  place 
north  of  Damascus.  He  rescued  Lot  and  the  women  and  the 
booty. 

A  joyful  surprise  awaited  his  return  from  the  field  of  victory. 
He  was  met  near  the  site  of  the  future  Jerusalem  by  Melchize- 
dek,  bearing  bread  and  wine  in  token  of  honor  and  love.  Mel- 
chizedek  was  a  Canaanite,  a  holy  man,  a  king  of  righteousness, 
and  a  priest  of  the  most  high  God,  holding  a  priesthood  of  an 
exceptional  order  among  the  heathen.  He  blessed  Abram  on 
God's  behalf:  "  Blessed  be  Abram  of  the  most  high  God,  posses- 
sor of  heaven  and  earth;"  and  again  he  thanked  God  on  behalf 
of  Abram :  "  And  blessed  be  the  most  high  God,  which  hath 
delivered  thine  enemies  into  thy  hand."  His  act  was  an  author- 
itative assurance  to  Abram  that  God  had  called  him  to  take  up 
arms,  and  had  given  him  the  victory.  This  is  the  only  military 
expedition  undertaken  by  the  pilgrim  father.  We  should  miss 
its  historical  significance  if  we  should  recognize  nothing  in  it 
except,  first,  an  indication  of  Abram's  courage  and  strategy  as 
a  fighting  man,  and,  next,  an  impulse  of  affection  for  his  unde- 
serving kinsman.     It  illustrates  the  faith  of  Abram  :  "  he  fights 


198  SACRED  niSTOEY. 

once,  as  he  walks  always,  by  faith."  Moreover,  the  Divine  help 
which  was  granted  to  him  in  the  campaign,  and  the  blessing  of 
God  pronounced  upon  him  by  the  royal  priest,  prove  that  he 
was,  by  the  grace  of  God,  the  lawful  heir,  the  lord  paramount, 
of  the  land  of  promise ;  and  that  he  held  a  Divine  commission 
to  protect,  by  force  of  arms,  the  sacred  soil  in  which  the  plan 
of  salvation  for  the  world  was  to  be  matured. 

Gen.  XV.  —  The  formula  which  follows,  "after  these  things," 
introduces  the  reader  to  the  first  stage  of  the  covenant  of  cir- 
cumcision. Abram,  on  his  return  from  the  "slaughter  of  the 
kings,"  fell  into  despondency.  Canaan  had  been  secured  to 
him,  but  he  had  been  obliged  to  fight  for  his  inheritance.  He 
knew  not  how  soon  the  enemy  might  resume  hostilities.  More- 
over, he  was  alone  in  the  land,  and  he  was  childless;  even 
Lot,  his  natural  heir,  had  gone  to  Sodom,  leaving  him  with 
no  other  presumptive  heir  than  Eliezer,  his  upper  servant,  not 
of  his  native  region  but  of  Damascus.  To  his  lonely  home 
Jehovah  came  to  make  with  him  a  covenant,  a  boon  which 
no  mortal  man  had  received  since  the  days  of  Noah.  The 
solemnities  attending  this  benefaction  were  appropriate  and 
imposing.  They  began  with  a  theophany,  the  fourth  of  the 
series.  Jehovah  said,  "  Fear  not :  I  am  thy  shield,  and  thy 
exceeding  great  reward,"  —  a  shield  to  defend  him,  and  a 
reward  to  exalt  him  to  honor.  Abram  replied,  "  Behold,  thou 
hast  given  to  me  no  seed;  and,  lo,  one  born  in  my  house  is 
mine  heir,"  i.e.,  Eliezer.  The  Lord  rejoined,  "This  shall  not 
be  thine  heir ;  but  he  that  shall  come  forth  of  thine  own  bowels 
shall  be  thine  heir."  The  Lord  added  that  his  legitimate  pos- 
terity should  equal  in  number  and  glory  the  stars  that  glitter 
in  the  Syrian  heavens.  "  Abram  believed  God,  and  it  was 
counted  to  him  for  righteousness."  His  anxiety  in  regard  to 
the  promised  seed  being  relieved,  his  thoughts  turned  on  the 
promised  land,  —  just  before  invaded  by  the  Assyrians.  He 
asked,  "  Whereby  shall  I  know  that  I  shall  inherit  it  ?  "  The 
Divine  answer  to  the  inquiry  is  explained  in  ver.  18 :  "  on 
that  day  Jehovah  made  a  covenant  with  Abram."  By  the 
command  of  God,  the  patriarch  killed  a  heifer,  a  goat,  and  a 


SOLEMN  COVENANT-MAKING.  199 

ram,  and  two  birds.  He  severed  the  carcass  of  each  of  the 
four-footed  victhns  mto  equal  parts,  and  laid  one  half  of  each 
over  against  its  other  half;  but  the  birds  he  did  not  cut  in  two. 
When  the  sun  was  going  ctown,  a  deep  sleep  fell  upon  Abram. 
While  he  slept,  God  announced  the  things  that  were  to  come 
to  him ;  the  homeless  position  in  Canaan  of  his  near  posterity, 
their  servitude  of  four  hundred  3'ears  in  a  foreign  land,  and 
their  return  laden  with  spoils  taken  from  their  taskmasters. 
After  nightfall,  the  Almighty  entered  into  a  covenant  witli 
Abram ;  giving  to  his  posterity,  when  they  should  be  delivered 
from  bondage,  the  entire  territory  lying  between  Assyria  and 
Egypt.  After  Abram  had  put  in  order  the  dissected  pieces  of 
the  animals,  the  birds  of  prey  came  down  on  the  sacrifice  ; 
but  Abram  drove  them  away.  The  vultures  represented  the 
foes  of  the  chosen  seed,  and  the  act  of  Abram  putting  them  to 
flight  was  a  sign  that  God  would  enable  his  people  to  over- 
come their  enemies.  "  For  he  remembered  his  holy  promise, 
and  Abraham  his  servant"  (Ps.  cv.  42).  The  "horror  of  great 
darkness "  which  fell  upon  the  patriarcli  prefigured  the  hard 
and  bitter  bondage  in  Egypt ;  but  the  gloom  was  relieved  by 
the  prediction  of  the  emancipation.  The  assurance  to  Abram 
that  he  should  go  down  to  his  grave  in  peace,  and  in  a  good 
old  age,  was  a  guaranty  that  his  eyes  should  not  see  his  seed 
brought  low.  In  the  remark  that  "  the  iniquity  of  the  Amor- 
ites  was  not  full,"  we  discover  that  a  probation  of  four  hundred 
years  was  granted  to  the  Canaanites.  As  the  night  came  on, 
*'  behold  a  smoking  furnace,  and  a  burning  lamp  passed  between 
the  pieces  "  of  the  severed  fiesh.  In  this  symbol  God  revealed 
his  presence,  as  afterwards  in  the  burning  bush  to  Moses,  to 
Israel  in  the  pillar  of  cloud  and  fire,  and  to  Solomon  in  the 
glory  filling  the  temple.  The  covenant  was  confirmed  by 
Jehovah,  who  passed  between  the  pieces,  and  was  accepted 
by  Abram,  who  arranged  them  in  their  proper  order. 

Period  II. :  Gex.  xvi.  —  Of  the  events  which  distinguished 
the  interval  of  fifteen  years,  separating  the  first  stage  of  the 
covenant  from  the  second,  none  are  narrated  except  the  story 
of  Hagar  and  Ishmael.     liagar  was  an  .Egyptian,  brought  to 


200  SACRED  HISTORY. 

Canaan,  as  one  may  presume,  by  Sarai,  among  her  handmaids, 
on  the  return  of  the  family  from  the  court  of  Pharaoli  (Gen. 
xii.  16).  In  the  covenant  above  described,  God  had  pledged  to 
Abram  a  son  from  his  own  person.  Sarai,  in  despair  of  off- 
spring, thought  to  help  God  in  the  matter  of  the  promise  by 
giving  Hagar  to  her  husband  as  a  wife  in  the  second  degree. 
Ishmael  was  born  in  this  marriage ;  but  the  sin  of  Sarai  and 
of  her  husband  was  avenged  in  one  of  the  inevitable  troubles 
which  grow  out  of  polygamy :  Sarai  saw  that  she  was  despised 
by  her  servant.  Abram  was  eighty-six  years  old  at  the  birth 
of  Ishmael.  Thirteen  years  afterwards,  when  he  was  ninety- 
nine  years  old,  the  covenant  in  its  second  stage,  or  enlarged 
form,  was  given. 

Gen.  xvii.  —  This  event  gave  character  to  the  fifth  theophany. 
A  great  advance  was  now  made  on  all  the  preceding  revela- 
tions. Jehovah  called  upon  Abram  to  walk  before  him  and 
be  perfect,  saying  that  he  would  multiply  him  exceedingly, 
and  make  nations  of  him,  and  kings  should  come  out  of  him. 
God  now  re-established  his  covenant  with  Abram,  and  his  seed 
after  him,  for  an  everlasting  covenant,  gave  to  them  all  the 
land  of  Canaan  for  a  perpetual  possession,  and  promised  to  be 
their  God.  The  Divine  Being  gave  supreme  dignity  to  the 
occasion  by  taking  to  himself  a  name  never  before  uttered,  and 
by  changing  the  names  of  the  two  chosen  ones  who  stood  in 
his  presence.  He  called  himself  El  Shaddai,  the  Almighty ; 
Abram  he  called  Abraham,  "the  father  of  many  nations." 
Sarai  he  called  Sarah,  or  Princess ;  for,  said  he,  "  she  shall  be 
a  mother  of  nations ;  kings  of  people  shall  be  of  her."  Not 
only  was  the  covenant  at  this  time  renewed  and  enlarged,  but 
it  was  furnished  with  its  sign  and  seal,  —  the  sacrament  of 
circumcision.  Abraham  received  without  delay  the  sacred  sign 
in  his  flesh,  and  administered  the  same  to  Ishmael,  and  to  all 
his  man-servants  of  eight  days  old  and  upward.  The  Almighty 
finished  the  momentous  transaction  by  assuring  Abraham  and 
Sarah  that  in  their  marriage  a  son  should  be  born  within  the 
current  year. 

Gex.  xviii.,  xix.  —  Three  men  appeared  at  the  tent-door  of 


310 A B   AND  AMMON.  201 

Abraham,  one  of  whom  was  Jehovah,  aiul  the  other  two  attend- 
ing angels.  The  Lord  announced  to  Abraham  the  approaching 
birtli  of  Isaac,  and  then  declared  his  purpose  to  destroy  forth- 
with Sodom  and  Gomorrah.  He  listened  graciously  to  the 
repeated  intercessions  of  Abraham,  beseeching  him  to  spare 
Sodom  if  fifty,  if  forty-five,  if  forty,  if  thirty,  or  if  twenty  even, 
or  if  only  ten  righteous  men,  should  be  found  there.  Jehovah 
went  his  way  as  soon  as  he  had  ceased  to  commune  Avith 
Abraham.  The  two  angels  who  went  to  Sodom  found,  instead 
of  ten  righteous  men  in  the  city,  only  one.  They  saw  that  the 
corruption  of  the  people  was  both  universal  and  beastly. 
Sodom  and  the  other  cities  of  the  plain  were  utterly  destroyed. 
Lot  and  his  family  escaped.  His  wife,  though  plucked  as  a 
brand  from  the  burning,  suffered  an  awful  and  mysterious 
death,  and  her  body  was  left,  a  pillar  of  salt,  on  the  plain  of 
Sodom  and  on  the  field  of  sacred  history.  Lot  may  be  traced 
in  his  flight  to  Zoar,  and  then  to  the  mountains  of  Moab.  He 
is  seen  hiding  himself  in  a  cave.  His  unclean  daughters  made 
their  father  drunk  two  nights  successively,  in  order  to  accom- 
plish their  incestuous  purposes.  A  son  was  born  to  each  of 
them,  —  to  one,  Moab,  to  the  other,  Amnion.  Although  neither 
the  daughters  nor  Lot  are  mentioned  again,  we  are  not  allowed 
to  lose  sight  of  their  posterity.  Long  before  the  return  of  the 
chosen  seed  to  the  chosen  land,  Jehovah  assigned  to  the  chil- 
dren of  Amnion  and  the  children  of  Moab,  in  perpetuity,  the 
country  immediately  east  of  the  lower  Jordan  and  of  the  Dead 
Sea.  When  the  Hebrev/s,  on  their  journey  to  Canaan,  were 
passing  through  this  region,  they  were  expressly  commanded 
not  to  harass  their  kinsmen ;  for,  said  God,  "  I  will  not  give 
thee  of  their  land  for  a  possession"  (Dent.  ii.  9,  19).  No 
reason  is  given  for  the  providential  arrangement  by  which  the 
outcast  race  became  the  nearest  neighbors  of  the  chosen  people. 
Among  the  obvious  consequences  of  the  arrangement  were  the 
severe  blow  which  the  presence  of  dishonored  kinsmen  dealt 
to  the  race-pride  of  the  Israelites,  the  incurable  antipathy  that 
was  certain  to  spring  between  natural  enemies  separated  by  a 
narrow  river  only,  and  the  difficulty  of  preventing  the  parties 


202  SACRED  HISTORY. 

from  coming  to  blows  (Deut.  xxiii.  3-6).  The  overthrow  of 
Sodom  and  Gomorrah  is  used  by  Moses  and  the  prophets,  and 
by  Christ  and  his  apostles,  to  enforce  the  righteousness  of  God's 
judgments.  Very  familiar  to  us  is  the  warning  of  Christ, 
"Remember  Lot's  wife,"  together  with  his  comparison  of  the 
guilt  of  the  cities  about  the  Sea  of  Galilee  with  the  guilt  of 
the  ancient  cities  of  the  plain.  Peter  reminds  his  readers  that 
God  turned  Sodom  and  Gomorrah  into  ashes,  making  them  a 
Avarning  to  the  ungodly;  and  Jude  sets  them  forth  "for  an 
example,  suffering  the  vengeance  of  eternal  fire."  No  event 
connected  with  the  patriarchal  history  is  more  fully  authenti- 
cated in  the  New-Testament  Scriptures  than  this  catastrophe. 

Period  III. :  Gen.  xx.,  xxi.  —  Abraham  went  to  Gerar, 
a  city  of  the  Philistines,  of  which  Abimelech  was  the  king. 
Here  Abraham  repeated  the  deception  which  he  had  practised 
on  Pharaoh  in  regard  to  his  relationship  with  Sarah,  and  was 
severely  rebuked  by  the  heathen  king.  Hengstenberg  remarks 
that  "  the  providence  of  God  watches  over  his  elect,  delivering 
him  from  difficulties  into  which  his  own  sin  had  led  him,  and 
from  which  human  wisdom  could  never  have  found  an  escape." 
The  birth  of  Isaac,  which  took  place  probably  at  Beer-sheba, 
is  now  recorded.  This  is  followed  by  the  seventh  theophany 
securing  the  final  exile  of  Hagar  and  Ishmael  from  Abraham's 
household,  and  by  the  covenant  of  peace  between  Abraham  and 
Abimelech. 

Gen.  xxii.  —  The  narrative  is  now  brought  down  to  the 
offering-up  of  Isaac,  and  the  ratification  of  the  covenant.  This 
transaction  was  distinguished  by  three  theophanies.  In  one, 
the  eighth  of  the  series,  God  commanded  Abraham  to  offer  his 
son  as  a  burnt-offering ;  in  the  ninth  theophany  Abraham's  hand, 
raised  to  slay  Isaac,  was  arrested ;  and  in  the  tenth,  the  prom- 
ises made  in  the  first  and  second  stages  of  the  covenant  were 
recapitulated,  and  solemnly  confirmed  by  the  oath  of  the 
Almighty.  The  terms  of  the  oath  are  these :  "  By  myself 
I  have  sworn,  saith  Jehovah,  for  because  thou  hast  done  this 
thing,  and  hast  not  withheld  thy  son,  thine  only  son :  that  in 
blessing  I  will  bless  thee,  and  in  multiplying  I  will  multiply 


ABRAHAM' ti  SPIRITUAL   GROWTH.  203 

thy  seed  as  the  stars  of  heaven,  and  as  the  sand  which  is  upon 
the  seashore ;  and  thy  seed  shall  possess  the  gate  of  his  ene- 
mies; and  in  thy  seed  shall  all  the  nations  of  the  earth  be 
blessed;  because  thou  hast  obeyed  my  voice"  (Gen.  xxii. 
16-18). 

This  communication  recapitulated  several  of  the  leading 
promises  of  the  covenant,  and  guaranteed,  by  an  oath,  their 
specific  performance :  "  By  myself  have  I  sworn,  saith  Jeho- 
vah." Again,  the  covenant  blessings  are  declared  to  be  closely 
connected  with  the  obedience  of  Abraham.  The  word  of 
Jehovah  begins,  "  Because  thou  hast  done  this  thing ; "  and  ends, 
"  Because  thou  hast  obeyed  my  voice."  The  promises  culmi- 
nate with  the  culmination  of  Abraham's  growth  in  grace.  His 
religious  training  began  with  his  Divine  call,  and  proceeded 
to  his  removal  to  Canaan,  to  his  holy  walk  before  God,  to  his 
intercessions  for  Sodom,  and  rose  to  its  highest  point  in  the 
surrender  to  God  of  a  life  dearer  to  him  than  his  own  life. 
Next,  the  occasion  was  made  memorable  by  the  oath  of 
Jehovah,  the  first  solemnity  of  the  kind  on  record.  Additional 
importance  is  given  to  this  occasion  by  the  circumstance,  that 
while  the  oath  was,  so  far  as  is  now  known,  sworn  to  Abraham 
alone,  it  is  treated  as  if  it  were  sworn  to  Isaac  and  Jacob  also 
(Gen.  1.  24;  Exod.  xxxii.  13).  So  close  was  the  connection,  by 
virtue  of  the  covenant,  between  the  three  old  patriarchs,  that 
the  benefits  bestowed  on  Abraham  were  trausferred,  in  their 
abounding  fulness,  to  Isaac  and  to  Jacob  ;  what  was  granted 
to  him  under  the  Divine  oath  was  granted  also  to  them,  under 
the  same  sanction  ;  and  the  best  of  the  promises  enter  into  the 
inheritance  of  the  saints  in  all  ages  (Heb.  vi.  13-19). 

Two  distinct  elements  enter,  so  we  have  now  seen,  into  the 
history  of  the  Abrahamic  period.  One  of  them  is  a  series  of 
Divine  communications  made  to  the  patriarch,  through  the 
medium  of  ten  theophanies,  which  were  distributed  through  a 
period  of  about  fifty  years.  They  revealed  to  him,  and  through 
him  to  the  human  race,  a  series  of  promises  and  commands, 
entering  vitally  into  the  plan  of  redemption  ;  and  these  were 
reduced  to  the  form  of  a  covenant  between  the  Almighty  and 


20-4  S  ACHED  n  I  STORY. 

Abraham.  By  virtue  of  its  terms,  and  its  inherent  nature,  that 
was  an  everlasting  covenant.  To  this  element  in  the  history,  a 
second  is  added ;  to  wit,  a  running  narrative  of  events  in  the 
life  of  Abraham,  by  which  the  theophanic  revelations  are  united 
and  interpreted.  The  Divine  word  calling  Abram  out  of  the 
mass  of  mankind  is  explained  by  the  providences  which  sepa- 
rated him  from  his  native  country  and  his  kindred,  from  his 
father,  from  Lot,  and  from  his  son  Ishmael,  from  his  six  sons 
the  offspring  of  Keturah,  and  from  the  heathen.  The  promise 
of  a  country  is  followed  by  the  description  of  his  sojourn  in 
Canaan,  and  of  the  altars  and  wells,  the  groves,  and  the  burying- 
place,  which  he  left  in  the  land  as  the  monuments  of  his  title 
to  the  inheritance.  At  the  beginning  God  made  known  his 
purpose  to  bless  the  friends  and  afflict  the  enemies  of  his 
servant ;  and  the  subsequent  narrative  shows  how  this  purpose 
was  executed  on  Pharaoh,  on  Melchisedec,  on  Abimelech,  on 
Lot,  and  on  the  confederate  kings  from  the  Euphrates.  The 
repeated  promises  and  commands  of  God  are  recorded;  and 
these  are  explained  by  his  personal  experience,  by  his  acts  of 
obedience,  down  to  the  culmination  of  his  career  in  his  faith 
in  the  offering-up  of  his  only  son  Isaac.  Through  the  entire 
narrative  the  sacred  writer  holds  the  reader  closely  to  the  com- 
mands and  promises  of  Jehovah,  and  the  corresjDonding  acts  of 
faith  and  obedience  performed  by  the  patriarch. 

The  narrative  is,  moreover,  so  constructed  as  to  show  the 
progressive  development  of  the  promises.  This  may  be  traced 
in  the  revelations  respecting  the  chosen  land,  the  greatness  of 
his  posterity,  his  chosen  seed,  the  future  of  that  seed,  and  the 
guaranties  of  the  Divine  engagements.  In  regard  to  the  chosen 
land,  God  said  at  Ur,  "  Get  thee  out  of  thy  country,  to  a  land 
that  I  will  show  thee ; "  leaving  Abraham  in  ignorance  as  to 
the  name  and  character  of  the  new  country.  He  went  out,  not 
knowing  whither  he  went.  On  his  arrival  at  Shechem,  God 
said,  "  Unto  thy  seed  will  I  give  this  land ; "  adding  nothing 
as  to  the  patriarch's  personal  title  to  the  possession,  or  as  to  its 
territorial  extent.  About  four  years  afterwards,  having  been 
sent  away  from  Egypt,  Abraham  came  to  Bethel.     The  Lord 


PROGRESS  IN   THE  PROMISES.  205 

told  liim  to  lift  up  his  eyes  and  look  around  him  to  the  four 
j)oints  of  the  compass,  and  said,  "All  the  land  which  thou 
seest  will  I  give  to  thee,  and  to  thy  seed  forever."  If  Abraham 
went  to  the  top  of  "  tlie  mountain  east  of  Bethel,"  his  eyes 
rested  towards  the  north  upon  the  heights  which  separate 
Judsea  from  Samaria ;  towards  the  south,  on  the  hills  which 
overlooked  the  site  of  the  future  Jerusalem,  and  the  more 
distant  ranges  of  Hebron ;  towards  the  west,  but  not  in  sight, 
was  the  great  sea ;  and  towards  the  east  he  could  trace  the 
forests  which  lined  the  banks  of  the  Jordan,  and  beyond  them 
the  long  dark  wall  of  Moab.  Then  the  Lord  added,  "Arise, 
walk  through  the  land  in  the  length  and  breadth  of  it ;  for  I 
will  give  it  unto  thee."  Still  later,  the  wide  and  fertile  domain 
was  enlarged  beyond  the  sphere  of  both  his  vision  and  journeys. 
At  Mamre,  in  the  fourth  theophany,  God  granted  to  his  seed 
the  whole  vast  region,  "from  the  river  of  Egypt  unto  the 
great  river,  the  river  Euphrates"  (Gen.  xv.  18).  In  the  fifth 
theophany,  God  gave  to  him  and  to  his  seed  all  tlie  land  of 
Canaan  for  an  everlasting  possession,"  making  the  imperial 
gift  perpetual.  And  finally  the  Almighty  conveyed  to  the 
patriarch  an  eternal  inheritance  in  "a  better  country,  even  a 
heavenly,"  whereof  the  earthly  Canaan  was  only  a  type. 

God's  promises  in  regard  to  the  number  of  Abraham's  pos- 
terity followed  the  same  law  of  progress.  At  Ur,  the  word  of 
God  to  the  childless  old  man  was,  "  I  will  make  of  thee  a  great 
nation ; "  at  Bethel,  "  I  will  make  thy  seed  as  the  dust  of  the 
earth ; "  at  Mamre,  as  the  stars  of  heaven  "  so  shall  thy  seed 
be ; "  at  jNIoriah,  "  I  will  multiply  thy  seed  as  the  stars  of  the 
heaven,  and  as  the  sand  which  is  upon  the  seashore." 

Not  less  remarkable  were  the  gradual  disclosures  to  the 
patriarch  in  regard  to  the  paternity  and  legitimacy  of  the 
chosen  seed.  At  Ur  the  word  of  God  was,  "I  will  make  of 
thee  a  great  nation."  At  Shechem,  and  later  at  Bethel,  the 
promise  was  repeated,  and  made  more  definite  :  "  Unto  thy  seed 
will  I  give  this  land,"  and  "  I  will  make  thy  seed  as  the  dust 
of  the  earth."  Abraham  relied  Avith  implicit  faith  upon  these 
repeated  assurances ;  but  year  after  year  came  and  went,  leav- 


206  SACRED  HISTORY. 

ing  him  childless  in  the  very  land  which  had  been  given  to  his 
posterity.  In  his  perplexity  he  attempted  to  solve  the  problem 
in  his  own  way,  not  knowing  the  power  of  God.  Two  or  three 
times  he  reached  an  erroneous  solution.  He  may,  or  may  not, 
have  conjectured  that  his  nephew  Lot  should  be  his  heir.  But 
that  delusion,  if  indeed  it  was  entertained,  was  dispelled  by 
Lot's  departure  to  Sodom.  Li  his  disappointment  he  said  to 
the  Almighty,  "What  wilt  thou  give  me,  seeing  I  go  childless?" 
He  attempted  to  relieve  his  perplexity  by  adopting  his  steward 
Eliezer  as  his  heir,  though  Eliezer  was  of  a  heathen  stock  from 
Damascus.  The  Lord  corrected  this  mistake  :  "  This  shall  not 
be  thine  heir,  but  he  that  shall  come  forth  out  of  thine  own 
bowels  shall  be  thine  heir."  By  way  of  confirming  this  promise, 
God  gave  another  to  the  effect  that  Abram's  legitimate  pos- 
terity should  equal  in  number  the  uncounted  stars.  Abraham 
"believed  in  the  Lord,  and  he  counted  it  to  him  for  righteous- 
ness." But  his  faith  did  not  take  in  the  precise  meaning  of  the 
Divine  word.  Sarah,  despairing  of  offspring,  conjectured  that 
the  birth  of  a  son  to  Abraham  in  a  marriage  with  another 
woman,  an  inmate  of  the  family,  would  fulfil  the  terms  of  the 
oracle.  She  gave  her  maid  Hagar  to  Abraham,  and  Ishmael 
was  born.  And  all  the  parties  seem  to  have  treated  Ishmael  as 
the  true  heir  to  the  promise  until  the  lad  was  thirteen  j^ears 
of  age.  But  their  mistake  was  corrected  by  the  terms  of  the 
covenant,  "  I  will  bless  Sarah,  and  give  thee  also  a  son  of  her." 
Within  the  year  following,  the  promise  was  fulfilled  in  the  birth 
of  Isaac.  God's  covenant  was  established  in  him,  to  the  exclu- 
sion of  Hagar's  son ;  and  both  the  pretender  and  his  mother 
were  separated  from  the  chosen  land.  In  due  time  Isaac  was 
offered  up  in  sacrifice  to  God,  and  Abraham  received  him,  as  it 
were,  a  second  time  from  the  dead. 

The  same  law  of  progress  governed  the  assurances  of  the 
Divine  faithfulness.  At  the  first,  God  gave  a  simple  promise ; 
in  the  two  following  theophanies,  the  promise  was  repeated ;  in 
the  fourth,  God  exalted  the  promise  into  a  covenant,  which  he 
ratified  by  passing  between  the  fragments  of  the  beasts  slain  in 
sacrifice ;  in  the  fifth,  God  completed  the  covenant  in  the  sacra- 


NO  UASTE   OR   SECRECY.  207 

ment  of  circumcision ;  and  in  the  tenth,  he  confirmed  every 
thing  that  had  gone  before  by  an  oath,  wherein,  when  he  could 
swear  by  no  greater,  he  swore  by  himself.  A  promise  indefi- 
nite at  the  beginning,  rose  through  the  stages  of  a  covenant 
and  of  a  sacrament  to  the  sanction  of  the  oath,  "  one  of  the  two 
immutable  things  in  which  it  is  impossible  for  God  to  lie." 

The  record,  by  the  form  in  which  it  is  constructed,  shows  the 
number  of  years  through  which  the  revelations  were  distributed. 
The  general  rule  is  thus  stated  by  Paul :  "  God  at  sundry  times 
and  in  divers  manners  spake  unto  the  fathers  by  the  prophets  " 
(Heb.  i.  1).  This  law  controlled  the  giving  of  the  commands 
and  promises  to  Abraham ;  they  were  communicated  not  all  at 
once,  but  in  distinct  portions,  at  eight  different  times,  and  in 
five  different  parts  of  the  country.  The  period  covered  by 
these  theophanic  revelations  may  be  estimated.  The  i^atriarch 
was  seventy-five  years  of  age  when  he  entered  the  land  of 
Canaan  ;  on  the  supposition  that  Isaac  was  twenty-five  years 
old  when  he  was  offered  up,  it  appears  that  about  fifty  years 
elapsed  between  the  first  theophany  at  Ur  and  the  tenth  on 
Mount  Moriah.  And  what  is  not  less  significant,  the  promise 
of  a  posterity  was  delayed  twenty-five  years  in  its  fulfilment. 
Now,  the  effect  of  this  leisurely  movement  in  the  plan  of  Provi- 
dence was  for  Abraham  a  prolonged  discipline.  Its  effect  on 
the  mind  of  the  reader  is  to  quicken  his  sense  of  the  unbroken 
continuity  of  God's  plan,  and  the  coherence  of  the  record. 

The  narrative,  still  further,  is  so  constructed  as  to  indicate 
the  publicity  which  was  given  to  the  new  beginning.  Nothing 
was  done  secretly,  or  hidden  in  a  corner.  If,  as  is  quite  proba- 
ble, Ur  of  the  Chaldees  was  near  the  mouth  of  the  Euphrates, 
Abraham  conducted  a  caravan  of  nearly  fifteen  hundred  souls 
through  eight  hundred  miles  to  Haran ;  thence  by  slow  jour- 
neys through  the  land  of  Canaan,  from  its  northern  to  its 
southern  boundary ;  thence  through  the  wilderness  of  Paran 
to  the  capital  city  of  populous  Egypt;  thence  back  again  to 
Hebron.  A  few  years  later,  he  removed  his  immense  following 
to  Gerar,  in  the  domain  of  Abimelech.  "  He  sojourned  in  the 
Philistines'  land  many  days."    But  he  did  not  go  into  obscurity. 


208  SACEED  TIISTOBY. 

He  asserted  liis  title  to  the  promised  land  by  the  slaughter  of 
the  kings  in  a  military  campaign  beyond  Damascus.  The  atten- 
tion of  the  Canaanites  was  arrested  by  the  presence  among 
them  of  this  wealthy  and  powerful  stranger  from  Assyria.  And 
the  historical  position  of  the  new  sheik  was  gradually  disclosed. 

In  the  first  place,  he  assumed  very  early  and  openl}^  the  posi- 
tion of  a  religious  reformer,  introducing  a  pure  and  spiritual 
worship.  The  holy  example  of  our  first  parents,  of  Abel,  and 
Noah,  had  been  forgotten.  Terah  and  his  fellow-countrj^men 
were  idolaters.  But  Abram,  through  Divine  grace,  repudiated 
the  gods  of  the  Mesopotamians,  and  abandoned  their  supersti- 
tious observances.  As  his  first  act,  on  reaching  his  new  home, 
he  built  an  altar  to  Jehovah,  and  offered  upon  it  a  holy  sacrifice. 
On  his  arrival  at  Bethel,  he  pitched  his  tent,  and  built  another 
altar.  When  he  removed  his  tent  to  Hebron,  he  built  an  altar 
there  also ;  tent  and  altar  going  together.  The  record  says, 
significantly,  that  the  Canaanite  was  in  the  land.  In  the  devo- 
tions of  this  stranger,  the  heathen  witnessed  the  extraordinary 
spectacle  of  a  spiritual  worship,  unaided  by  any  visible  repre- 
sentation of  Deity,  whether  idol  or  image.  A  victim  was  laid 
upon  a  rude  altar  builded  under  the  open  sky ;  the  flesh  was 
consumed  by  fire,  and  ascended  towards  heaven  in  dissolving 
smoke  and  in  a  sweet  savor.  The  native-born  idolaters  saw 
before  them  a  sheik  who  had  come  into  their  country  to  set  up 
altars  to  the  true  God  in  the  place  of  false  gods,  and  to  begin 
there  the  work  whereby  the  knowledge  of  one  God,  only  one, 
the  sole  object  of  worship,  and  invisible,  should  become  the  sure 
inheritance  of  the  human  race,  the  first  truth  and  the  basis  of 
of  true  religion  through  all  ages. 

Secondly,  Abraham  was  a  prophet,  a  medium  of  Divine  com- 
munications. The  ten  theophanies  were  not  only  manifesta- 
tions of  the  glory  of  God,  but  vehicles  for  the  communication 
of  saving  knowledge.  Of  the  truths  made  known  to  Abraham, 
and  through  him  to  mankind,  these  are  examples: — God  is 
a  hearer  of  prayer :  witness  the  audience  which  he  gave  to 
Abraham's  importunate  entreaties  for  Sodom.  God  is  just  and 
good :    "  Wilt  thou  destroy  the   righteous  with    the   wicked  ? 


CREED,    COVENANT,   AND   CUUBCIT.  209 

That  be  far  from  thee.  Shall  not  the  Judge  of  all  the  earth 
do  right  ?  "  The  Almighty  is  entitled  to  receive  from  us  the 
voluntary  offering  of  the  dearest  and  best  of  our  possessions, 
but  he  abhors  human  sacrifices :  witness  the  offering-up  and  the 
rescue  of  Isaac.  The  coming  of  a  personal  Messiah  Avas  re- 
vealed: "Abraham,"  said  Christ,  "saw  my  day,  and  was  glad." 
Christ  is  the  very  seed  of  the  woman,  the  One  through  whom 
all  nations  shall  be  blessed.  The  Redeemer's  office  as  a  royal 
priest  was  set  forth  in  Melchizedek ;  his  position  as  a  suffering 
^Messiah  was  represented  in  Isaac  laid  on  the  altar ;  atonement 
by  substitution  was  signified  in  Isaac  unbound,  and  the  animal 
provided  in  his  place  and  slain.  The  possibility  of  a  resurrec- 
tion was  made  known  to  Abraham,  who  accounted  that  God 
was  able  to  raise  his  son,  burned  to  ashes,  from  the  dead.  And, 
finally,  the  doctrine  of  justification  by  faith,  without  works, 
became  a  leading  part  of  his  personal  experience.  jMozley 
remarks,  "  that  the  creed  of  Abraham  has  become  the  creed  of 
the  civilized  world,  and  has  been  victorious  over  the  idolatry 
of  the  human  race,  and  grown  from  a  deposit  in  the  breast  of 
one  man  into  a  universal  religion."  ^ 

Thirdly,  Abraham  was  a  party  to  a  new  covenant  with  God. 
His  biography  turns  upon  the  giving  of  this  covenant  as  the 
most  decisive  event  of  his  life,  and  the  instrument  itself  became 
the  organic  law  of  the  kingdom  of  God.  Very  grave  questions 
have  arisen  touching  the  nature,  extent,  and  permanency  of 
the  Abrahamic  covenant ;  wide  differences  of  opinion  exist  in 
regard  to  the  interpretation  of  its  promises  and  stipulations, 
and  in  regard  to  the  signification  of  its  seal.  Yet  the  covenant 
itself  is  one  of  the  most,  if  not  the  very  most,  important  of  the 
documents  preserved  in  the  sacred  records. 

Fourthly,  In  Abraham  the  Church  became  a  visible  society. 
The  Church  had  existed  in  its  integral  elements  from  the  day 
when  the  first  gospel  was  revealed ;  but  its  constituents  were 
individual  members  scattered  abroad.  The  ordinance  of  the 
sabbath  had  been  instituted  from  the  beginning.  The  word  of 
life  was  published  by  preachers  of  righteousness,  like  Enoch 
1  Mozley:  Ruling  Ideas,  p.  23. 


210  SACRED  HISTORY. 

and  Noah.  And  yet,  as  a  visible  and  organized  society,  the 
Church  did  not  exist  until  it  was  established  in  the  family 
of  Abraham. 

Fifthly,  The  Scriptures  do  not  hesitate  to  declare  that 
Abraham  was,  in  a  spiritual  sense,  the  father  of  all  true  be- 
lievers. He  is  expressly  called  "the  father  of  all  them  that 
believe "  (Rom.  iv.  11).  Gentile  converts  are  repeatedly 
described  as  his  children  (Rom.  iv.  12;  Gal.  iii.  29).  And  the 
promise  that  he  should  be  the  father  of  many  nations  is  made 
good  by  the  gathering  together  of  the  great  company  of  the 
redeemed  (Rom.  iv.  16-18).  True  believers,  though  they  be 
Gentiles,  are  the  Israel  of  God,  the  real  children  of  Abraham ; 
and,  as  his  children,  they  are  the  heirs  to  all  the  covenant 
promises  that  remain  to  be  fulfilled. 

Sixthly,  He  was  the  progenitor  of  a  race,  and  the  founder 
of  a  nationality,  both  illustrious.  The  most  important  branch 
of  his  posterity  took,  at  first,  the  name  of  Hebrews.  After 
the  time  of  the  Judges,  they  were  known  as  the  children  of 
Israel,  or  Israelites,  or  simply  Israel.  At  the  secession  of  the 
ten  tribes,  the  remnant  took  the  name  of  Jews,  from  the  tribe 
of  Judah.  Although  they  never  bore  the  name  of  Abraham 
as  a  patronymic,  they  habitually  referred  to  him  as  their  pro- 
genitor, and  began  with  him  their  genealogies.  The  unique 
and  conspicuous  position  occupied  by  the  Jews  in  all  ages  and 
in  every  country,  their  position  in  the  history  of  other  historical 
races,  ancient  and  modern,  give  to  Abraham  a  place  among  the 
most  renowned  of  the  illustrious  few  who  have  founded  great 
kingdoms.  But  it  must  not  be  forgotten,  that  the  existence 
and  grandeur  of  the  Jewish  commonwealth  were  subordinate 
to  the  grander  purposes  for  which  it  was  called  into  being.  It 
was  the  cradle  of  the  Church  of  God  in  its  infancy.  The  word 
of  God  was  put  into  its  keeping  as  a  light  to  enlighten  not  only 
the  Jews,  but  the  larger  multitudes  of  the  Gentiles.  A  ritual 
of  sacrifice  was  appointed,  which  should  afterwards  culminate, 
on  the  one  hand,  in  the  great  atonement,  and  on  the  other,  in 
a  more  spiritual  worship.  One  family  was  chosen  to  be  per- 
petuated in  the  male  line  through  the  ages,  to  provide  for  the 


TUB  PATEIAECnS  ALL   SOJOUENEES.  211 

incarnation  of  the  Saviour.  Judaism,  as  a  religion,  was  tem- 
porary and  provisional;  the  Jewish  commonwealth,  in  which 
Judaism  was  environed,  was  provisional  likewise.  Accordingl}^, 
Abraham  as  the  founder  of  a  great  state  was  inferior  to  Abra- 
ham as  a  reformer  of  worship,  as  a  prophet,  a  party  with  God 
to  the  covenant  of  circumcision,  as  the  original  member  of  the 
organized  Church,  a  representative  man,  and  the  father  of 
the  faithful.  Everywhere  and  always  the  friend  of  God, 
Abraham  was  both  the  progenitor  and  ideal  representative  of 
the  chosen  seed.  Not  only  did  he  stand  in  the  covenant 
of  circumcision  as  well  for  his  seed  after  him  as  for  himself, 
but  the  course  of  his  life  foreshadowed  the  career  of  the  new 
race  of  wliich  he  was  the  founder.  His  biography  was  at  once 
a  history  and  a  prophecy ;  a  narrative  of  God's  dealings  with 
him  })ersonalIy,  and  a  revelation  of  God's  purpose  respecting 
those  that  should  descend  from  him.  "  It  is  a  general  histori- 
cal trutli,  that  the  character  and  pursuits  of  the  nations  are 
reflected  in  those  of  their  patriarchs  and  heroes.  From  this 
principle,  the  history  of  Abraham  gains  a  wider  scope  and  a 
higher  interest ;  and  we  are  justified  in  interjoreting  it  from 
that  enlarged  point  of  view."  ^ 

1.  The  position  in  Canaan  as  a  pilgrim  and  stranger  was 
prophetic.  On  liis  arrival  at  Shechem,  God  gave  the  country 
to  him,  not  as  a  personal  possession,  but  as  a  grant  to  his  pos- 
terity :  "  Unto  thy  seed  will  I  give  this  land.''  He  himself,  so 
Stephen  remarked,  gained  "  no  inheritance  in  it,  no,  not  so 
uuieh  as  to  set  his  foot  on"  (Acts  vii.  5).  In  like  manner, 
Isaac,  and  after  Isaac  Jacob,  and  after  Jacob  the  twelve  patri- 
archs, sojourned  in  Canaan  as  in  a  strange  country.  Instead 
of  a  personal  title  and  ownership  in  the  land,  they  received 
each  in  his  generation  the  promise  given  to  Abraham,  "  to  thy 
seed  will  I  give  this  land."  Accordingly  Paul  describes  Abra- 
ham as  "dwelling  in  tabernacles  with  Isaac  and  Jacob,  heirs 
of  the  same  promise ; "  not  heirs  of  an  inheritance  reduced  to 
actual  possession. 

2.  The  sojourn  of  the  Hebrews  in  Egypt  was  first  foreshown 

1  Kaliscb  on  Gen.  xii. 


212  SACRED  HISTORT. 

to  Abraham  in  his  journey  to  that  kingdom,  and  afterwards 
predicted  in  a  theophanic  vision  (Gen.  xv.  13-16).  A  famine 
in  Canaan  took  both  him  and  his  posterity  down  to  Egypt. 
He  and  they  ahke  suffered  indignities  at  the  hand  of  the  king. 
Both  were,  in  turn,  enriched  with  cattle  and  silver  and  gold, 
and  were  sent  back  to  the  promised  land  by  command  of  the 
reigning  Pharaoh.  And,  further,  Abraham  was  born  in  one 
heathen  land,  and  became  the  friend  of  God  in  another.  In 
like  manner,  his  posterity  were  born  in  idolatrous  Canaan,  and 
became  a  nation  in  idolatrous  Egypt.  Abraham  also  went 
forth  from  Chaldsea,  not  knowing  whither  he  went.  At  the 
exodus,  Israel  went  after  God  "in  the  wilderness,  in  a  land 
that  was  not  sown"  (Jer.  ii.  2).  Abraham,  moreover,  was 
sorely  tried,  often  disappointed,  in  the  unfulfilled  promises. 
The  Hebrews,  seeking  a  better  country,  endured  the  terrors 
of  pestilence  and  famine  in  the  wilderness.^ 

3.  Not  less  prophetic  was  the  isolation  of  Abraham.  He  was 
separated  from  his  country,  from  his  kindred  in  Chaldsea,  from 
Lot  in  Canaan,  from  seven  out  of  eight  of  his  children,  and 
from  the  native  peoples  among  whom  he  dwelt.  By  virtue  of 
the  same  law  of  segregation,  Isaac  and  Jacob  were  in  turn  sent 
into  Mesopotamia  to  be  married,  lest  they  should  take  wives  of 
the  inhabitants  of  Canaan ;  and  Jacob  was  brought  back  into 
Canaan  when  it  became  likely  that  he  might  remain  perma- 
nently in  Mesopotamia.  When  Jacob's  sons  were  in  danger 
of  becoming  absorbed  by  intermarriage  and  social  intercourse 
with  the  Canaanites,  a  famine  sent  them  in  a  body  to  Egypt. 
The  unconquerable  antipathy  between  the  Egyptians  and  the 
Israelites  secured  the  isolation  of  the  chosen  seed  through 
the  whole  period  of  their  exile.  On  their  restoration  to  the 
chosen  land,  God  ordered  the  heathen  to  be  exterminated  for 
their  sins.  He  established  also,  among  the  Hebrews,  a  system 
of  ordinances,  civil,  social,  and  religious,  the  direct  purpose  and 
effect  of  which  were  to  separate  his  people  from  the  aborigines. 
By  a  multitude  of  minute  regulations  in  regard  to  food  and 
clothing  and  habits  of  life,  by  an  exacting  ritual,  by  a  mass  of 
1  Kaliscli  on  Gen.  xii. 


P BOP II EC Y  IN  UISTOBY.  213 

traditions,  and  by  prejudices  wliicli  amounted  almost  to  so  many 
diseases,  these  people  were  hedged  in  from  all  the  world. 

4.  The  Divine  revelations  made  to  Abraham  pointed  forward 
to  the  office  of  his  posterity  in  the  composition  of  the  Holy 
Scriptures.  The  word  of  God  was  communicated  to  mankind, 
not  through  Egyptians,  or  Assyrians,  or  Phoenicians,  or  Romans, 
or  Greeks,  but  through  the  Israelites.  Unto  them  were  com- 
mitted the  oracles  of  God.  The  earlier  revelations  were  given 
in  the  Hebrew  tongue,  and  deposited  with  the  Jewish  Church. 
The  later  revelations,  although  given  in  the  Greek  tongue,  and 
put  into  the  keeping  of  the  Christian  Church,  were  reduced  to 
writing  by  the  direct  descendants  of  Abraham.  The  remark- 
able fact  is  that  every  inspired  author,  without  exception,  — 
prophet,  scribe,  psalmist,  evangelist,  and  apostle,  —  was  a  direct 
descendant  of  Abraham. 

5.  The  theophanic  appearances  through  which  God  made 
known  his  will  to  Abraham  were  in  some  sort  forerunners  of 
the  coming  wonders.  Jehovah  appeared  to  Jacob,  first  in  the 
vision  of  the  ascending  and  descending  angels,  then  in  the  form 
of  a  wrestler  at  the  brook  Jabbok ;  to  Moses,  at  Horeb,  in  the 
burning  bush  ;  and  to  the  Church  in  the  wilderness,  in  the  pillar 
of  cloud  and  of  fire,  the  illuminated  chariot  of  the  Almighty. 
Five  hundred  years  later,  two  theophanies  were  granted  to 
Solomon.  In  one  of  these,  at  the  dedication  of  the  temple, 
"  the  house  was  filled  with  a  cloud,  even  the  house  of  the  Lord, 
so  that  the  priests  could  not  stand  to  minister  by  reason  of 
the  cloud ;  for  the  glory  of  the  Lord  had  filled  the  house  of  the 
Lord"  (2  Chron.  v.  13,  14).  In  the  reign  of  King  Uzziah, 
the  prophet  Isaiah  "  saw  the  Lord  sitting  upon  a  throne,  high 
and  lifted  up,  and  his  train  filled  the  temple "  (Isa.  vi.  1). 
By  the  River  Chebar  the  heavens  were  opened,  and  Ezekiel 
saw  divine  visions.  At  one  time  "  a  whirlwind  came  out 
of  the  north,  a  great  cloud,  and  a  fire  infolding  itself,  and  a 
brightness  was  about  it."  At  another  time  the  house  of  the 
Lord  "was  filled  with  the  cloud,  and  the  court  was  full  of 
the  brightness  of  Jehovah's  glory "  (Ezek.  i.  4,  x.  4).  At 
Babylon  the  king  drew  near  to  the  furnace  into  which  he  had 


214  SACBED  niSTOEY. 

cast  the  three  worshippers  of  God ;  he  exclaimed,  "  Lo,  I  see 
four  men  loose,  walking  in  the  midst  of  the  fire,  and  they  have 
no  hurt ;  and  the  form  of  the  fourth  is  like  the  Son  of  God " 
(Dan.  iii.  25).  Daniel,  too,  in  a  night  vision,  saw  one  like  the 
Son  of  man  coming  to  the  Ancient  of  days,  and  receiving 
"an  everlasting  dominion,  which  shall  not  pass  away,  and  his 
kingdom  that  which  shall  not  be  destroyed"  (Dan.  vii.  14). 
In  the  fulness  of  time  Jesus  Christ  appeared,  "  God  manifest  in 
the  flesh."  At  his  transfiguration  a  cloud  overshadowed  them, 
and  the  voice  of  God  came  out  of  the  cloud.  At  his  ascension 
a  cloud  received  him  out  of  sight.  Stephen,  at  his  martyrdom, 
saw  the  heavens  opened,  and  the  Son  of  man  standing  on  the 
right  hand  of  God  (Acts  vii.  56).  Paul,  at  his  conversion, 
saw  the  glory  of  Christ,  and  heard  his  voice.  Finally  the 
theophanic  era,  which  began  with  Abraham  at  Ur,  closed  with 
John  at  Patmos. 

6.  The  purchase  which  the  patriarch  made  of  a  burial-place 
at  Hebron,  and  the  burial  of  Sarah  there,  were  acts  of  faith, 
looking  forward  to  the  occupancy  of  Canaan  by  his  descendants. 
His  own  remains  were  afterwards  laid  with  hers,  by  the  pious 
care  of  Isaac  and  Ishmael.  At  the  burial  of  Isaac  in  the  same 
sepulchre,  Esau  and  Jacob,  like  Isaac  and  Ishmael,  united  in  an 
office  of  affection,  for  the  last  time,  perhaps,  before  they  were 
separated  forever  (Gen.  xxxv.  29).  By  faith,  Jacob,  when 
dying,  required  Joseph  to  bury  him  not  in  Egypt,  but  in  Canaan. 
The  bodies  of  Jacob's  twelve  sons,  though  they  all  died  in 
Egypt,  were  removed  to  Shechem  for  burial,  and  Joseph  himself 
gave  similar  commandment  concerning  his  bones  (Acts  vii.  16 ; 
Heb.  xi.  22).  In  due  time  his  entire  posterity  were  colonized 
in  Canaan. 

7.  God  said  to  Abram  at  first,  "Thou  shalt  be  blessed," 
and  "  thou  shalt  be  a  blessing."  Afterwards  God  said,  "  In 
thy  seed  shall  all  nations  be  blessed."  Both  he  and  they  were 
the  recipients  of  covenant  mercies,  and  the  vehicles  by  which 
these  mercies  were  conveyed  to  the  nations.  The  Israel  of  God 
received  the  living  oracles,  together  with  the  ordinances  of 
sacred  worship,  to  be  theirs  as  personal  possessions,  but  to  be 


TRUE   CUILDREN  OF  ABRAHAM.  215 

held  in  ti;nst  likewise  for  the  outlying  nations.  The  Hebrews 
were  to  have  light  in  their  own  dwellings,  and  were  to  be  the 
source  of  saving  light  to  the  Gentiles.  The  consummate  gift 
to  the  race  founded  by  Abraham  was  the  Messiah,  his  ideal 
seed,  the  glory  of  Israel,  and  the  Saviour  of  the  world. 

8.  Abraham  was  the  original  representative  of  the  true 
believer  in  all  time  to  come.  The  gifts  and  graces  of  the 
Divine  life  became  personal  in  him  who  was  the  ancestor  of 
the  chosen  seed.  The  command  to  him  was,  "  I  am  the  Almighty 
God :  walk  before  me,  and  be  thou  perfect."  The  command  to 
all  who  would  be  saved  is,  "  As  He  which  hath  called  you  is 
holy,  so  be  ye  holy  in  all  manner  of  conversation  and  godliness." 
The  spiritual  relation  of  Abraham  to  the  believers  is  set  forth 
in  the  places  in  which  he  is  called  the  "father  of  all  them  that 
believe ; "  "  the  father  of  the  faithful."  They  who  receive 
Christ  are  said  to  "walk  in  the  steps  of  the  faith  of  our  father 
Abraham  ; "  they  "  which  be  of  faith  are  the  children  of  Abraham, 
and  are  blessed  with  faithful  Abraham." 

The  lines  of  historical  progress  which  proceed  from  the 
Abrahamic  covenant,  and  run  through  the  Scriptures  of  the  Old 
and  New  Testaments,  give  us  a  sense  of  the  organic  unity  of 
the  sacred  record.  This  sense  is  strengthened  by  the  represent- 
ative })osition  of  the  patriarch.  In  his  experience,  and  in  the 
revelations  made  to  him,  are  contained  the  germs  of  what  follows 
in  the  history  of  the  other  patriarchs,  of  the  twelve  tribes 
descending  from  them,  of  the  theocracy,  of  the  kingdom  of 
David,  and  of  the  Apostolic  Church. 


216  SACEED  HISTOBY. 


CHAPTER  XV. 

SPIRITUAL  DISCIPLINE. 

In  the  choice  and  call  of  Abraham,  God  purposed  to  raise  up 
a  people  to  serve  him,  a  holy  seed  whom  he  intended  to  take 
into  a  covenant  relation  with  himself.  He  was  engaged  in 
founding  not  simply  a  civil  state,  but  a  church ;  not  a  society 
resting  on  the  unwritten  law  of  nature  as  its  basis,  and  con- 
templating its  subjects  as  natural  and  unrenewed  men,  but  a 
spiritual  society,  the  basis  of  which  should  be  the  covenant  of 
grace,  and  the  ideal  members  of  which  should  be  chosen  out 
of  the  mass  of  mankind,  redeemed  from  the  curse  of  the  law 
and  regenerated.  Abraham  was,  by  Divine  appointment,  the 
root  out  of  which  the  chosen  and  peculiar  people  were  to 
spring,  the  father  of  all  true  believers  to  the  end  of  the  world, 
and  a  contracting  party,  as  the  representative  of  his  posterity, 
to  a  covenant  wherein  the  other  party  represented  the  Triune 
God.  By  the  necessity  of  his  position,  he  was  to  become  not 
a  great  statesman  or  warrior,  but  an  eminent  saint,  full  of  faith 
and  of  the  Holy  Ghost.  Close  attention  is  due,  therefore,  to 
the  spiritual  culture  by  which  he  was  fitted  for  his  sacred  voca- 
tion. It  is  made  certain,  from  the  record,  that  he  received  the 
regeneration.  He  was  taken  out  of  the  apostate  race  of  Shem, 
and  the  idolatrous  family  of  Terah ;  and  his  life  of  faith  and 
holy  obedience  cannot  be  accounted  for  except  by  assuming 
that  he  was  the  subject  of  supernatural  grace.  Jehovah  said 
to  him,  "  I  am  the  Almighty  God ;  walk  before  me,  and  be 
thou  perfect "  (Gen.  xvii.  1).  What  were  the  means  which 
God  employed  to  cultivate  the  new  life  in  him,  and  to  equip 
him  for  the  work  set  before  him  ? 


FAITH  NOUmSIIEB  AND   TESTED.  217 

To  this  question  the  first  reply  may  be  that  the  complete 
separation  of  Abraham  from  his  idolatrous  country  and  kindred, 
his  settlement  in  a  distant  land,  his  isolation  there  from  the 
native  heathen,  and  his  estrangement  from  the  dissolute  court 
of  Pharaoh  and  from  the  pagan  tribe  of  Abimelech,  contributed 
largely  to  his  spiritual  culture.  Secondly,  God,  having  sepa- 
rated his  chosen  one  from  a  people  of  unclean  lips,  gave  him 
direct  communication  with  himself  through  the  medium  of  the 
theophanies.  In  them,  at  ten  different  times,  the  patriarch  saw 
the  King,  the  Lord  of  hosts ;  they  were  distributed  through  fifty 
years ;  they  marked  the  critical  periods  in  his  career ;  in  them 
God  talked  with  him  as  a  man  with  his  friend,  and  communi- 
cated to  him  a  body  of  saving  knowledge.  Thirdly,  the  methods 
which  were  employed  to  strengthen  his  faith  produced  the  best 
results.  The  revelations  made  to  him  consisted  largely  in 
promises ;  and  the  religious  affection  which  corresponds  to  a 
Divine  promise  is  faith.  Hence,  as  Delitzsch  observes,  "a  faith 
which  laid  hold  of  the  word  of  promise,  and  on  the  strength  of 
that  word  gave  up  the  visible  and  present  for  the  invisible  and 
future,  was  the  fundamental  characteristic  of  the  patriarchs."  ^ 
Baumgarten  points  out  what  was  peculiar  in  the  faith  of  the 
three  oldest  of  the  pilgrim  fathers :  "  Abraham  was  a  man  of 
faith  that  works ;  Isaac,  of  faith  that  endures ;  Jacob,  of  faith 
that  wrestles." 

The  historian  has  preserved  a  multitude  of  minute  details, 
showing  how  the  faith  of  Abraham  was  encouraged,  how  it  was 
tried,  and  how  encouragement  and  trial  were  mingled  together 
in  his  experience.^  The  substance  of  the  promises  encouraged 
his  faith.  A  numerous  posterity,  the  issue  of  his  marriage  with 
Sarah  ;  a  fertile  and  beautiful  country  for  his  inheritance  and 
that  of  his  posterity ;  his  personal  elevation  to  great  renown, 
and  the  assurance  that  God  would  be  his  God,  and  that  he 
should  receive  life  everlasting ;  the  blessing  of  God  bestowed 
on  him,  and  through  him  on  the  whole  human  race  in  the  incar- 
nation of  the  Son  of  God  in  the  person  of  one  of  his  direct 
descendants,  —  these  Avere  the  promises  which  God  offered  to 

1  Keil  aud  Delitzsch,  vol.  i.  p.  183.  2  Burt:  Redemption's  Dawn. 


218  SACRED  niSTOBY. 

Abraham  as  the  rewards  and  incentives  of  his  piety.  Again, 
liis  faith  was  re-enforced  from  time  to  time  by  the  increasing 
fulness  of  the  promises.  The  series  of  revelations,  which  began 
by  encouraging  a  childless  old  man  to  expect  a  posterity,  pro- 
ceeded from  stage  to  stage,  until  they  made  sure  to  him  a 
legitimate  offspring  as  numerous  as  the  sands  and  the  stars. 
The  initial  gift  to  a  homeless  Shemite,  of  a  home  in  a  strange 
land,  was  matured  into  a  good  and  indefeasible  title,  conveying 
to  him  and  his  natural  heirs  the  broad  region  between  the  river 
of  Egypt  and  the  Euphrates.  And,  further,  the  faith  which 
rested  at  first  on  a  simple  promise  was  afterwards  invigorated 
by  a  renewal  of  the  promise  once  and  again ;  then  by  a  cove- 
nant;  then  by  a  sacrifice  offered  and  accepted;  and,  lastly,  by 
a  Divine  oath.  Once  more,  Abraham's  confidence  in  God  was 
made  strong  by  the  fulfilment,  in  his  own  experience,  of  many 
remarkable  promises.  Among  these  may  be  mentioned  his 
immense  wealth,  his  retinue  of  servants,  his  easy  victory  over 
the  confederate  kings  from  the  east,  and  the  supernatural  deliv- 
erance of  Sarah  from  the  indignity  offered  by  Pharaoh  and 
Abimelech.  More  than  all  else,  the  assurance  of  a  posterity, 
which  was  left  indefinite  in  the  first  theophany,  was  gradually 
unfolded  in  the  course  of  twenty-five  years,  until  it  terminated 
in  the  issue  of  a  son  from  the  person  of  himself  and  Sarah, 
although  both  were  "  as  good  as  dead."  The  exact  fulfilment 
of  proximate  engagements  gave  him  reason  to  trust  in  what 
God  had  said  respecting  those  better  things  which  were  exhib- 
ited from  afar  (Heb.  xi.  13). 

The  faith  of  the  patriarch  was  also  sufficiently  tried.  The 
Jewish  writers  specify  ten  of  these  trials :  (1)  His  quitting 
his  native  country  ;  (2)  his  flight  to  Egypt  from  famine  in 
Canaan ;  (3)  the  seizure  of  Sarah  in  Egypt ;  (4)  the  war  for 
the  rescue  of  Lot ;  (5)  his  taking  Hagar  to  gratify  Sarah ;  (6) 
his  circumcision ;  (7)  the  seizure  of  Sarah  in  Gerar  ;  (8)  the 
expulsion  of  Ishmael ;  (9)  the  expulsion  of  Hagar ;  (10)  the 
sacrifice  of  Isaac.^  Paul  mentions  only  four  (Heb.  xi.  8-17 ; 
Rom.  iv.  18-21).     The  first  was  in  the  command  to  quit  Ur 

1  Hales. 


TWO  ELEMENTS   OF  DISCIPLINE.  219 

of  tlie  Clialdees,  and  go  to  a  country  the  name  and  character  of 
which  he  neither  knew  nor  sought  to  know.  Committing  it  all 
to  God,  he  went  forth ;  nor  did  he  recognize  Canaan  as  his 
future  home  until  his  journey  of  faith  brought  him  to  Shechem. 
For  the  second  trial,  he  was  required  to  sojourn  in  the  land  of 
promise  as  in  a  strange  country,  obtaining  no  permanent  home, 
but  wandering  about  as  a  pilgrim  and  stranger  over  a  region 
which  was  in  the  undisturbed  occupation  of  the  aborigines. 
But  so  strong  was  his  confidence  in  the  word  of  God,  giving 
the  land  to  him  and  his  descendants,  that  he  buried  Sarah  his 
wife  at  Hebron.  The  promise  of  a  son  in  his  marriage  with 
Sarah  put  his  faith  for  the  third  time  to  the  test.  The  obsta- 
cles to  the  fulfilment  of  the  Divine  promise  were  his  own 
advanced  age,  and  the  age  and  barrenness  of  his  wife.  But  his 
faith  gained  the  victory.  He  staggered  not  at  the  promise  of 
God  through  unbelief.  He  encountered  his  fourth  and  final 
trial,  and  the  sharpest,  at  the  sacrifice  of  Isaac.  He  was  di- 
rected to  slay  his  son,  his  only  son  Isaac,  whom  he  loved ;  and 
in  him  also  to  put  to  death  the  very  person  through  whom  a 
great  posterity  was  to  arise.  But  his  faith,  outrunning  the 
deductions  of  reason,  and  perhaps  the  progress  of  revelation 
itself,  solved  the  problem  of  Isaac's  body  reduced  to  ashes,  and 
yet  living  again,  "accounting  that  God  was  able  to  raise  him 
up  even  from  the  dead."  , 

Not  only  did  God  at  one  time  encourage  the  faith  of  his  ser- 
vant, and  at  another  put  his  faith  to  the  test,  but  he  connected 
closely  together  these  two  elements  in  his  spiritual  discipline, 
(1)  The  joy  which  filled  his  heart  when  he  found  himself  in  the 
promised  land  must  have  been  weakened  by  the  word  of  God, 
"  Unto  thy  seed  will  I  give  this  land,"  signifying  that  he  him- 
self had  no  personal  inheritance  there.  He  became  a  wanderer, 
going  from  Shechem  to  Bethel,  from  Bethel  to  Egypt,  from 
Egypt  back  to  Hebron.  But  his  faith  was  strengthened  again 
when  he  saw  in  the  land  the  type  of  a  better  inheritance,  even 
a  heavenly.  (2)  Shortly  after  his  arrival,  a  famine  starved  him 
out  of  his  new  home,  a  disaster  which  might  naturally  awaken 
in  him  the  suspicion  that  the  land  of  promise  was  after  all  but 


220  SACBED   BISTORT. 

little  better  than  a  land  of  hunger ;  but  his  faith  rose  within 
him  when  he  came  back  from  Egypt  "  very  rich  in  cattle  and 
silver  and  gold,"  to  a  region  which  had  recovered  from  the 
drought,  and  was  "a  land  flowing  with  milk  and  honey." 
(3)  To  the  pain  of  separation  from  all  his  kindred  was  added 
his  isolation  in  a  country  filled  with  Canaanites ;  but  his  lone- 
liness was  relieved  by  communion  with  God  in  wonderful  the- 
ophanies,  and  by  the  readiness  of  the  Almighty  to  bear  with  his 
importunate  intercessions  for  Sodom,  the  home  of  his  unworthy 
but  much-loved  nephew.  (4)  In  a  dark  day,  Lot,  who  had  sepa- 
rated himself  from  the  family  and  had  gone  down  to  Sodom, 
was  taken  cajotive  by  banditti  from  the  East.  But  the  dark- 
ness was  turned  to  light  by  the  victory  which  Abraham  gained 
over  the  enemy,  the  rescue  of  Lot,  and  the  blessing  pronounced 
upon  him  by  Melchizedek.  (5)  The  promise  of  a  great  pos- 
terity, which  cheered  his  early  life  in  Canaan,  was  followed  by 
twenty-five  years  of  bitter  disappointment ;  but  when  he  was 
a  hundred  years  old,  Isaac  was  born.  (6)  God  entered  into 
covenant  with  Abraham,  assuring  him  that  his  seed  should  be 
like  the  stars  in  number :  "  Abraham  believed  in  the  Lord,  and 
he  counted  it  to  him  for  righteousness."  His  rising  faith  was 
instantly  tried  by  the  warning  that  his  seed  should  be  in 
bondage  four  hundred  years  in  a  strange  land,  and  should  be 
afflicted;  and  yet  his  hopes  were  revived  again  by  the  assur- 
ance that  they  should  return  with  great  substance  to  Canaan. 
(7)  The  encouragement  and  trial  of  Abraham's  faith  went  hand 
in  hand  in  the  joy  with  which  he  received  Ishmael  as  the  seed  of 
promise,  and  with  his  distress  when  required  to'  cast  out  the 
lad.  (8)  His  faith  rose  to  exultation  in  the  birth  of  Isaac ; 
gave  place  to  distress,  but  not  to  despair,  when  he  was  com- 
manded to  slay  his  son ;  and  re-acted  in  exultation  when  the 
lad  was  spared.  Kis  faith,  strengthened  by  the  victory  which 
he  gained  over  himself,  was  crowned  with  glory  in  the  last  and 
most  superb  of  the  visions  in  which  he  saw  Jehovah,  and  heard 
the  word  of  his  oath.  His  life  was  full  of  these  vibrations 
l^etween  hoj)e  and  despondency ;  like  the  interchange  of  night 
and  day,  day  sinking  into  darkness,  darkness  giving  place  to 


JUSTIFIED   BY  FAITH.  '2,21 

light,  night  returning  again,  but  even  then  only  to  usher  in 
the  morning  of  a  long  and  perfect  day. 

From  the  regeneration  granted  to  the  patriarch,  the  transi- 
tion is  natural  to  the  benefits  of  pardon  and  justification. 
These  were  requisite  to  his  position  as  a  party  to  the  covenant 
of  circumcision,  and  as  the  father  of  the  faithful ;  since  these 
high  offices  would  have  been  dishonored  if  intrusted  to  a 
Chaldoean  under  condemnation  for  sin,  original  and  actual. 
The  record  not  only  affirms  in  direct  terms  the  fact  of  his 
righteousness  before  God,  but  it  clears  up  every  part  of  the 
intricate  subject.  The  inquiry  is  fourfold.  It  relates  to  the 
instrumental  cause  of  Abraham's  justification,  to  the  time  when 
he  received  the  benefit,  to  the  relation  between  his  justification 
and  circumcision,  and  to  the  specific  object  appi-ehended  by  his 
faith. 

1.  Faith  alone  was  the  instrumental  cause  of  his  justification. 
After  the  slaughter  of  the  kings,  he  fell  into  a  despondency ; 
many  years  had  elapsed,  and  he  yet  went  childless.  He  pro- 
posed to  solve  the  problem  by  adopting  as  his  heir  the  son  of 
his  steward  Eliezer.  Jehovah  came  to  him  in  the  fourth  the- 
ophany,  and  said  to  him,  "  This  shall  not  be  thine  heir ;  but  he 
that  shall  come  forth  out  of  thine  own  bowels  shall  be  thine 
heir."  And  he  brought  him  forth  abroad,  and  said,  "  Look  now 
toward  heaven,  and  tell  the  stars,  if  thou  be  able  to  number 
them :  and  he  said  unto  him.  So  shall  thy  seed  be."  Then 
follow  the  memorable  words :  "  And  he  believed  in  the  Lord, 
and  he  counted  it  to  him  for  righteousness."  This  statement 
gives  assurance  that  the  ground  of  his  justification  was  faith, 
not  works.  It  is  written,  not  that  he  obeyed  God,  but  that  "  he 
believed  in  the  Lord."  In  this  precise  sense,  Paul  received  the 
words  of  Moses  (Rom.  iv.  1-8).  The  three  ideas  are  expressed 
by  the  terms  "faith,"  "imputation,"  and  "justification;"  the 
first  being  the  ground,  the  second  the  mode,  the  third  the 
benefit  secured.  That  this  benefit  did  not  rest  in  his  good 
works,  appears  likewise  from  the  acts  of  prevarication  of  which 
he  was  twice  convicted.  In  both  instances,  he,  the  father  of 
the  faithful,  was  put  to  shame  by  heathen  princes;  once  by 


222  SACRED  HISTORY. 

Pharaoh,  king  of  Egypt,  and  again  by  Abimelech,  a  Philistine 
chief.  To  Pharaoh  he  persuaded  Sarah  to  say  tliat  she  was  the 
sister  of  Abraliam,  which  was,  in  point  of  fact  and  in  the  inten- 
tion, a  denial  that  she  was  Abraham's  wife.  Many  years  after- 
ward, Abraham  repeated  the  falsehood  to  Abimelech.  Nothing 
but  the  Divine  interposition  saved  Sarah  once  and  again  from 
ruin  (Gen.  xii.  14-20,  xx.  1-18).  These  incidents  leave  a 
most  painful  impression  ujDon  the  reader,  whether  attention  be 
directed  to  Abraham's  prevarication  in  both  instances,  or  to  his 
humiliation  in  the  presence  of  the  heathen,  or  to  the  confession 
that  this  double  dealing  entered  into  his  plan  of  life,  or  to  his 
want  of  self-respect,  or  to  his  cowardly  failure  to  protect  his 
wife's  honor,  or  to  the  strange  distrust  of  God,  in  this  one  par- 
ticular, by  a  man  who  in  all  things  else  was  heroic  in  faith. 
The  case  is  completed  by  the  fact,  that  this  sin  was  first  com- 
mitted not  long  after  the  arrival  of  the  chosen  family  in  Canaan, 
and  was  repeated,  with  many  aggravations,  twenty-five  years 
later,  after  he  had  seen  seven  theophanies,  in  two  of  which  he 
entered  into  covenant  with  God.  The  whole  narrative  sup- 
ports the  judgment  of  Paul,  that  Abraham  had  nothing  whereof 
to  glory  before  God,  and  was  not  justified  by  works. 

2.  There  is  hardly  room  for  serious  doubt  upon  the  second 
point,  —  the  time  when  this  benefit  was  granted  to  the  patriarch. 
From  the  fact  that  nothing  is  said  of  his  justification  until  the 
giving  of  the  fourth  theophany,  it  should  not  be  inferred  that 
he  was,  up  to  that  time,  in  a  state  of  condemnation.  It  is 
expressly  stated  by  Moses,  that  he  obeyed  God  in  the  original 
call :  Stephen  confirms  this  statement,  and  Paul  maintains  that 
this  primal  act  of  obedience  sprang  from  his  faith  (Heb.  xi.  8). 
It  is  not  to  be  supposed,  that  his  justification  lingered  fifteen 
years  behind  his  entrance  on  the  new  life :  faith,  holy  obedi- 
ence, and  justification  are  inseparable.  Abraham,  tlierefore, 
was  accepted  as  righteous  in  the  sight  of  God,  when  he  first 
believed;  although  the  Divine  declaration  of  that  acceptance, 
instead  of  being  recorded  in  the  order  of  its  occurrence,  was 
reserved  for  another  chapter  in  the  history.  "  We  are  not  here 
told,"  so  Calvin  remarks,  "when  Abraham  first  began  to  be 


SALVATION  NOT  BY  CIIiCUMCISION.  223 

justified,  or  to  believe  in  God ;  but  in  this  one  place  it  is 
declared,  or  related,  how  he  had  been  justified  through  his 
whole  life."  ^ 

3.  The  relation  in  the  order  of  time,  between  his  justification 
and  circumcision,  is  not  an  open  question.  The  narrative  makes 
it  certain  that  he  was  declared  to  be  just  in  the  fourth  theoph- 
any,  and  the  sacrament  of  circumcision  was  first  given  to 
him  in  the  theophany  next  succeeding  (Gen.  xv.  6,  xvii.  24). 

^And,  on  supposition  that  he  received  justification  as  early  in 
life  as  his  arrival  in  Canaan,  he  was  a  just  man  twenty-four 
years  before  he  was  circumcised  (Gen.  xii.  4,  xvii.  24).  The 
conclusions  wliieh  Paul  draws  from  this  circumstance  are  sub- 
stautially  these :  Circumcision  was  neither  the  ground,  nor  the 
condition  even,  of  Abraham's  acceptance  with  God ;  circumcis- 
ion and  justification  are  not  tied  together ;  the  former  was  not 
the  procuring  cause,  but  the  seal  simply  of  the  righteousness 
of  the  faith  which  he  had,  yet  being  uncircumcised  ;  unbelieving 
Jews,  though  circumcised,  are  under  condemnation ;  the  believ- 
ing Gentiles,  though  not  circumcised,  are  just  before  God  ;  and 
Abraham  is  the  spiritual  fatlier,  not  of  the  circumcised  peoples, 
but  of  them  that  believe,  whether  they  be  Jews,  with  the  sac- 
ramental sign  in  the  flesh,  or  Gentiles  without  it.  These  are 
weighty  truths,  fundamental  to  the  doctrines  of  the  sacraments, 
of  the  covenants  sealed  by  them,  and  of  the  salvation  set  forth 
in  them  all.  They  furnish  incontestable  ]3roofs  that  the  sacra- 
ments have  no  inherent  power  to  save,  nor  are  they  inseparable 
conditions  of  the  work  of  grace  (Rom.  iv.  9-12). 

4.  It  is  more  difficult  to  determine  the  precise  object  laid 
hold  of  by  the  faith  of  the  patriarch.  It  is  written,  that  when 
Jehovah  assured  him  that  his  legitimate  offspring  should  be  as 
the  stars  in  number,  Abraham  "believed  in  the  Lord"  (Gen. 
XV.  6).  From  this  statement  it  might  be  inferred  that  the 
precise  object  on  which  his  faith  terminated  was  not  the  right- 
eousness of  Christ,  but  the  promise  of  an  immense  posterity  ^ 
or,  as  some  would  say,  the  posterity  itself.  Nor  is  the  difficulty 
explained  by  the  use  which  Paul  makes  of  this  incident.     He 

1  Calvin  on  Genesis  xv.  6. 


224  S  ACHED  Til  STORY. 

remarks  tliat  the  patriarch  "  against  hope  believed  in  hope,  that 
he  might  become  the  father  of  many  nations,  according  to  that 
which  was  spoken,  So  shall  thy  seed  be.  .  .  .  And  therefore 
it  was  imputed  to  him  for  righteousness  "  (Rom.  iv.  18-22). 
What  was  imputed  to  him  for  righteousness  ?  Faith  in  Christ, 
or  faith  in  the  promise  that  he  should  be  the  father  of  many 
nations  ?  Some  writers  teach  that  the  patriarch's  faith  was,  in 
its  nature,  saving  faith,  irrespective  of  its  specific  object ;  and 
that  Abraham's  faith  was  counted  or  regarded  as,  in  and  by 
itself,  an  equivalent  to  a  perfect  obedience  to  the  law.  But  this 
explanation  confounds  the  instrument  of  justification,  which  is 
faith,  with  the  meritorious  ground  thereof,  which  is  the  right- 
eousness of  Christ.  It  has  been  held,  also,  that  faith  is  simply 
confidence  in  God,  and  that  God  accepted  Abraham  for  his 
inward  piety,  and  for  the  elevated  principles  by  which  his  life 
was  governed.  But  justification  on  the  ground  of  piety  or 
goodness  of  any  kind  is  at  variance  with  the  gosjjel  way  of 
salvation.  Other  writers  hold  that  Abraham's  faith  was  evan- 
gelical in  its  vital  principle,  and  therefore  saving,  although  the 
righteousness  of  Christ  was  not  its  specific  object ;  in  other 
words,  his  heart  was  prepared  to  receive  the  gospel  whenever 
the  gospel  should  be  disclosed  to  him.  "  His  faith  was  nothing 
more,"  says  Professor  Fairbairn,  "  nothing  less,  than  the  renun- 
ciation of  all  virtue  and  strength  in  himself,  and  a  hanging  in 
childlike  trust  upon  God  for  what  he  was  able  and  willing  to 
do.  .  .  .  Transfer  such  a  faith  to  the  field  of  the  New  Testa- 
ment, bring  it  into  contact  with  the  manifestation  of  God  in 
the  person  and  work  of  Christ  for  the  salvation  of  the  world, 
and  what  could  or  would  be  its  language  but  that  of  the 
apostle  ?  — '  God  forbid  that  I  should  glory,  save  in  the  cross 
of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ ; '  '  not  my  own  righteousness,  which 
is  of  the  law,  but  that  which  is  of  God  through  faith.'  "  ^  The 
better  opinion,  however,  appears  to  be,  that  Abraham  not  only 
embraced  the  promise  making  sure  unto  him  a  great  posterity, 
but  he  foresaw,  also,  that  out  of  the  bosom  of  his  posterity  the 
Redeemer  should  come  forth ;  and  his  faith  laid  hold  of  the 
1  Fairbairn'3  Typology  vol.  i.  p.  135. 


WHAT  IS  JUSTIFYING   FAITH?  225 

righteousness  of  that  Coming  One  as  the  meritorious  ground  of 
his  own  acceptance  witli  God.  Let  it  be  considered,  that  God 
had  already  assured  the  patriarcli  that  in  his  seed  all  nations 
should  be  blessed  (Gen.  xii.  3) ;  next,  the  seed  here  promised 
was  Christ  (Gal.  iii.  16)  ;  further,  Abraham  saw  Christ's  day, 
and  was  glad  (John  viii.  56) ;  and,  once  more,  the  promise  that 
he  should  be  the  father  of  many  nations  included  the  establish- 
ment of  the  kingdom  of  God  on  earth,  whereof  Christ  cruci- 
fied was  the  foundation.  To  these  considerations  three  others 
may  be  added.  First,  faith  in  the  Divine  veracity,  although  a 
grace,  is  not,  strictly  speaking,  justifying  faith,  because  this 
last  takes  its  character  from  its  peculiar  object,  which  is  none 
other  than  the  mediation  and  merits  of  the  Lord  Jesus.  "  It 
seems  to  be  absurd,"  as  Calvin  suggests,  "  that  Abraham  should 
be  justified  by  believing  that  his  seed  would  be  as  numerous 
as  the  stars  of  heaven,  for  this  could  be  nothing  but  a  particu- 
lar faith,  which  could  by  no  means  suffice  for  the  complete 
righteousness  of  man." '  Next,  Paul,  in  the  fourth  chapter  of 
his  Epistle  to  the  Romans,  and  the  third  chapter  of  his  Epistle 
to  the  Galatians,  shows  that  we  are  justified  in  the  same  way  in 
which  Abraham  was  justified ;  that,  as  he  was  justified  by  faith, 
so  are  we.  But  it  is  certain  that  we  are  justified  by  faith  in 
Christ  as  a  personal  Saviour ;  from  that,  it  follows  that  faith 
in  Christ  was  specifically  the  faith  by  which  Abraham  was 
justified.  Paul  also  taught  that  Abraham  is  the  spiritual 
father  of  all  true  believers  ;  and  the  ground  of  his  fatherhood 
is  their  participation  with  him  in  a  common  way  of  salvation. 
But  if  Abraham's  faith  terminated  on  the  promise  of  a  numer- 
ous posterity,  and  the  faith  of  believers  in  these  last  days 
terminates  on  another  object  altogether,  even  on  the  righteous- 
ness of  Christ,  how  can  it  be  rightly  said  that  they  "  walk  in 
the  steps  of  the  faith  of  our  father  Abraham  "  ?  Finally,  the 
intimate  persuasion  of  the  Church  from  the  beginning  is  worth 
considering ;  and  that  persuasion  is,  that  while  the  faith  of  the 
Old-Testament  saints  was  prospective,  and  that  of  the  New- 
Testament  saints  is  retrospective,  the  hearts  of  all  holy  men, 

1  Calvin  on  Eom.  xv.  6. 


226  SAC  BED  HISTORY. 

from  tlie  very  beginning,  have  turned  towards  the  cross.  Faith 
was  then,  as  it  is  now,  Christocentric. 

In  order  to  the  formation  of  a  just  estimate  of  Abraham's 
character,  it  is  necessary  to  take  under  reflection  all  the  influ- 
ences, both  the  evil  and  the  good,  by  which  it  was  moulded. 
On  the  one  hand,  it  is  to  be  considered  that  he  received  his 
birth  and  early  training  in  an  idolatrous  family,  that,  during  the 
forming  period  of  his  life,  he  was  exposed  to  the  contamination 
of  Chakhean  immorality,  and  that,  until  he  was  nearly  seventy 
years  old,  he  had  no  other  knowledge  of  God  than  what  was 
common  to  his  countrymen.  On  the  other  hand,  it  is  to  be 
remembered  that  he  received  the  gift  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  and 
that,  for  the  period  of  fifty  years,  he  was  the  subject  of  special 
means  of  grace,  including  specific  revelations,  Divine  covenants 
and  promises,  special  providences,  and  many  trials  which  both 
strained  and  strengthened  his  faith. 

The  narrative  points  out  the  results  of  these  opposite  influ- 
ences on  his  character.  Duplicity  was  one  of  the  characteristics 
of  the  race  in  the  bosom  of  which  this  man  was  born  and 
educated ;  and  the  infirmity  which  these  unhappy  associations 
entailed  on  the  patriarch  betrayed  itself  in  his  intercourse  with 
Pharaoh  and  Abimelech.  Such  was  he  by  the  force  of  evil 
example.  What  was  he  by  the  grace  of  God  ?  His  altars  at 
Shechem,  at  Bethel,  and  in  the  land  of  Moriah,  were  the  monu- 
ments of  the  pure  worship  which  he  offered  to  God  in  the  midst 
of  idolatrous  tribes.  He  proved  his  generosity  and  disinterest- 
edness by  the  choice  which  he  gave  to  Lot  of  all  the  land  for 
a  dwelling-place.  He  revealed  his  intrepidity  by  his  campaign 
against  the  five  confederate  kings,  in  which,  at  the  head  of  his 
trusty  servants,  he  fell  upon  the  retreating  brigands,  rescued 
Lot  from  their  hands,  recovered  the  prisoners  and  the  booty 
they  had  seized,  put  them  to  an  ignominious  flight,  and  chased 
them  to  the  country  beyond  Damascus. 

On  his  return  from  this  expedition,  two  princes  of  Canaan 
came  out  to  salute  him  as  the  deliverer  of  their  people.  These 
were  the  pious  king  of  Salem  and  the  heathen  king  of  Sodom. 
In  the  presence  of  Melchizedek,  Abraham,  though  by  Divine 


THE  SOLDIER   AND    THE  PRIEST.  227 

right  the  lord  of  the  whole  land,  laid  aside  his  authority,  grace- 
fully accepted  for  himself  and  his  exhausted  warriors  the  bread 
and  wine  furnished  by  the  king,  and  then  modestly  assumed 
the  attitude  of  the  less  to  the  greater.  The  soldier  bowed  with 
reverence  before  the  sacred  person  of  the  priest.  Salem  was 
a  little  city  of  Canaan,  yet  the  most  illustrious  ancestor  of 
Christ  acknowledged  his  inferiority  to  its  sheik.;  for  that  petty 
prince  held  an  order,  both  sacerdotal  and  regal,  after  which 
Christ  was  made  a  priest  forever.  The  heir  of  the  world  laid 
at  the  feet  of  this  royal  priest  a  tenth  part  of  his  hard-earned 
spoils ;  at  once  acknowledging  the  right  of  Jehovah,  in  whose 
strength  he  had  conquered,  to  all  that  he  had  won  in  battle, 
and  the  right  of  the  priest,  as  the  representative  of  Jehovah  in 
sacred  things,  to  a  tithe  of  all.  "  Now  consider  how  great  this 
man  was,  unto  whom  even  the  patriarch  Abraham  gave  a  tenth 
of  the  spoils."  Then,  also,  he  whom  God  had  called  to  be  a 
blessing  to  all  the  families  of  the  earth,  received  a  blessing  from 
one  who,  though  a  Canaanite,  was  better  than  himself.  For, 
"  without  any  dispute,  the  less  is  blessed  of  the  better  "  (Heb. 
vii.  7).  But  the  patriarch,  who  was  so  modest  and  respect- 
ful in  the  presence  of  the  king  of  Salem,  became  another  man 
in  the  presence  of  the  king  of  Sodom.  The  laws  of  war 
required  Abraham  to  restore  his  recaptured  prisoners  to  their 
several  tribes,  but  allowed  him,  also,  to  retain  the  goods  and 
cattle  which  he  had  recovered  from  the  enemy.  The  sheik  of 
Sodom,  with  an  affectation  of  generosity,  offered  to  give  what 
he  had  neither  the  right  nor  power  to  withhold,  saying  to 
Abraham,  "  Give  me  the  persons,  and  take  the  goods  to  thy- 
self." The  patriarch,  maintaining  his  personal  dignity,  refused 
to  appropriate  to  himself  the  smallest  portion  even  of  the  spoils. 
The  cattle  which  his  warriors  had  eaten  on  the  march  he  would 
not  pay  for ;  the  booty  that  his  allies  had  taken  was  theirs  by 
the  right  of  recapture.  As  for  himself,  he  called  God  to  wit- 
ness that  he  would  not  take  a  thread,  not  even  a  shoe-string, 
lest  any  should  say  that  the  king  of  accursed  and  impious 
Sodom  had  made  rich  the  friend  of  God.  His  gentle  courtesy 
to  the  three  men  who  came  to  the  door  of  his  tent  is  described 


228  SACKED  HISTORY. 

with  inimitable  grace  by  the  sacred  writer,  and  the  incident  is 
universally  accepted  as  one  of  the  finest  instances  on  record  of 
genuine  hospitality.  Even  the  inspired  apostle  takes  from 
it  his  beautiful  aphorism,  "  Be  not  forgetful  to  entertain 
strangers,  for  thereby  some  have  entertained  angels  unawares  " 
(Heb.  xiii.  2).  At  the  destruction  of  Sodom  this  man,  in 
order  to  save  the  city,  approached  Jehovah  in  a  series  of 
entreaties,  wherein  were  united  a  true  compassion  for  the 
guilty,  and  a  godly  jealousy  for  the  Divine  honor,  —  sentiments 
apparently  incompatible,  but  reconciled  in  the  pathetic  inter- 
cessions of  the  humane  and  holy  patriarch. 

Nor  is  any  thing  in  this  part  of  sacred  history  more  note- 
worthy than  the  sustained  delicacy  and  self-respect  with  which 
he  conducted  his  negotiation  for  a  family  burying-ground. 
Sarah  died  at  Hebron.  Abraham  came  thither  to  mourn  for 
his  wife,  and  to  weep  for  her.  In  due  time  he  stood  up  from 
before  his  dead,  and  asked  the  people  of  the  land  for  a  place 
of  burial.  They  offered  him  the  choice  of  all  their  sepulchres. 
Abraham  bowed  himself  in  courteous  acknowledgment  of  their 
generosity,  but  entreated  them  to  obtain,  at  its  full  value  in 
money,  the  cave  of  Machpelah  for  his  separate  use.  Ephron, 
the  owner  of  the  property,  begged  him  to  accept  of  the  cave 
and  the  adjacent  field  as  a  gift.  This  was,  perhaps,  an  act  of 
pure  liberality ;  perhaps  it  was  an  Oriental  device  to  drive  a 
better  bargain,  or  to  secure  a  princely  gift  in  return.  But 
Abraham  met  the  proposal  with  perfect  dignity,  and  insisted 
on  paying  the  owner  a  fair  price  for  the  cave  and  the  field. 
The  purchase  was  made ;  the  price  was  fixed  by  Ephron  him- 
self, and  Abraham  weighed  to  him  the  silver  which  he  had 
named  in  the  audience  of  the  sons  of  Heth,  —  four  hundred 
shekels  current  money  with  the  merchant.  And  there  Abra- 
ham buried  Sarah  his  wife. 

But  the  crowning  virtue  of  the  patriarch  was  his  faith.  By 
faith  he  went  into  exile  at  the  command  of  God;  "by  faith 
he  considered  Canaan  his  own,  although  occupied  by  many  and 
mighty  nations;"  by  faith  he  endured,  through  fifty  years, 
many  heavy  trials,  and  grew  strong  as  he  bore  along  towards 


TnE  MAN  AND   THE  COVENANT.  229 

his  grave  the  increasing  burden,  until  at  last  tliis  faith  became 
consummate  at  the  altar  on  which  he  offered  Isaac,  his  son,  in 
sacrifice  to  God.  In  all  these  things,  and  in  all  the  incidents 
of  his  life,  two  only  excepted,  he  proved  himself  equal  to  every 
occasion,  —  generous,  brave,  modest,  hospitable,  devout,  and 
holy.  His  single  infirmity  stood  apart  from  his  general  charac- 
ter :  it  was  in  itself  inexcusable,  but  it  did  not  wither  his  inborn 
virtue  or  implanted  graces.  He  returned  from  Egypt  and  from 
Gerar  with  a  spot  upon  the  fringe  of  his  garment:  unsullied 
purity  was  spread  all  over  the  folds  of  the  yvo\^  robe  itself. 
Such  was  the  man  whom  God  was  pleased  to  make  the  heir  of 
the  world.  If  he  be  judged  by  the  standard  of  the  Christian 
profession,  he  was  a  most  eminent  saint ;  if  by  the  standard  of 
his  own  age,  he  was  a  wonderful  example  of  nearly  every  excel- 
lency possible  to  man. 

The  way  is  now  open  for  an  exposition  of  the  Abrahamic 
covenant,  —  its  promises,  heirs,  seals,  and  perpetuity ;  its  re- 
lation to  the  covenant  of  grace,  and  the  visible  society  estab- 
lished by  virtue  of  its  provisions.  We  shall  be  helped  in  our 
inquiries,  if,  on  examination  of  the  ten  theophanies  granted  to 
Abraham,  we  recognize  the  intimate  relation  existing  between 
the  provisions  of  the  covenant,  as  they  are  set  forth  in  three 
of  the  theophanies,  and  the  promises  given  in  the  seven  other 
theophanies.  The  covenant  was  begun  in  the  fourth  theophany 
(Gen.  XV.),  was  extended  in  the  fifth  (chap,  xvii.),  and  com- 
pleted in  the  tenth  (chap.  xxii.).  Now,  the  significant  fact  is, 
that  the  promises  which  were  put  into  the  formal  covenant, 
and  made  part  thereof,  are  nearly  identical  with  the  promises 
contained  in  the  seven  other  theophanic  revelations.  (1)  In 
the  first  theophany,  granted  at  Ur  of  the  Chaldees,  God  said 
to  Abraham,  "  I  will  make  of  thee  a  great  nation  "  (Gen.  xii. 
2)  ;  in  the  third  theophany  the  words  were,  "I  will  make  thy 
seed  as  the  dust  of  the  earth"  (xiii.  16).  This  precise  promise 
is  incorporated  in  the  formal  covenant  in  its  three  stages.  In 
the  first  stage  we  have :  "  Tell  the  stars,  if  thou  be  able  to  num- 
ber them  ;  so  shall  thy  seed  be  "  (xv.  5).  In  the  second  stage  : 
"  Thy  name  shall  be  Abraham,  for  a  father  of  many  nations 


230  SACRED  HISTORY. 

have  I  made  thee  "  (xvii.  5).  In  the  third  stage,  "the  sand  of 
the  seashore  "  is  added  to  the  stars  of  heaven :  "  I  will  multiply 
thy  seed  as  the  stars  of  heaven,  and  the  sand  which  is  upon  the 
seashore  "  (xxii.  17).  (2)  The  land  of  Canaan  was  promised 
in  the  second  theophany,  and  then  in  the  third  (xii.  7,  xiii.  17). 
This  benefit  was  carefully  secured  in  each  of  the  three  stages 
of  the  covenant  (xv.  16,  xvii.  8,  xxii.  17).  (3)  In  the  second 
and  third  theophanies,  Abraham's  posterity  are  made  joint  heirs 
with  him  in  the  land  of  Canaan :  "  Unto  thy  seed  will  I  give 
this  land  "  (xii.  7).  "  All  the  land  that  thou  seest,  to  thee  will 
I  give  it,. and  to  thy  seed  forever"  (xiii.  15).  Turning  again 
to  the  covenant,  we  perceive  that  this  gift  is  made  one  of  its 
prominent  provisions :  "  In  the  fourth  generation  they  shall 
come  hither  again"  (xv.  16).  "I  will  establish  my  covenant 
between  me  and  thee,  and  thy  seed  after  thee  in  their  genera- 
tions ;  .  .  .  and  I  will  give  unto  thee  and  to  thy  seed  after  thee 
all  the  land  of  Canaan  for  an  everlasting  possession  "  (xvii.  7,  8). 
"And  thy  seed  shall  possess  the  gate  of  his  enemies  "  (xxii.  17). 
(4)  In  the  first  theophany,  God  engaged  to  bless  Abraham. 
This  engagement,  also,  was  put  into  the  body  of  the  covenant, 
and  enlarged  so  as  to  embrace  his  posterity  (xvii.  7,  xxii.  17). 
■(5)  The  noblest  and  richest  blessing  of  all  was  given  to  Abra- 
ham when  he  was  in  Ur  of  the  Chaldees :  "  In  thee  shall  all 
families  of  the  earth  be  blessed"  (Gen.  xii.  3).  In  the  theoph- 
any of  Jehovah  and  the  two  angels,  this  gracious  promise  is 
reiterated  by  the  Lord  himself:  "All  the  nations  of  the  earth 
shall  be  blessed  in  him,"  Abraham  (xviii.  18).  Now,  this  prom- 
ise also  appears  as  an  integral  element  of  the  covenant  in  the 
final  stage:  "In  thy  seed  shall  all  the  nations  of  the  earth  be 
blessed"  (xxii.  18).  Long  afterwards  Peter,  speaking  as  he 
was  moved  by  the  Holy  Ghost,  declared  that  this  promise  was 
part  and  parcel  of  the  Abrahamic  covenant  (Acts  iii.  25).  Of 
what  has  been  here  declared,  this  is  the  sum:  The  five  leading 
articles  of  God's  covenant  with  Abraham  guarantee  to  him 
an  immense  posterity ;  the  land  of  Canaan  ;  the  joint  heirship 
in  the  land  of  Canaan  of  himself  and  of  his  offspring;  the 
Divine   blessing   on   him   and  them;    and  salvation   conveyed 


INHERITANCE  OF  BELIEVERS.  231 

through  him  to  all  the  world.  Now,  all  these  benefactions 
appear  in  one  and  another  of  the  theophanies,  and  are  exalted 
to  the  rank  of  covenant  promises  in  the  three  covenant  engage- 
ments. The  ten  revelations  are  bound  together  in  one  coherent, 
eternal  covenant,  between  God  and  the  father  of  the  faithful ; 
and  all  who  believe  in  Christ  may  take  Peter  at  his  word : 
"  Ye  are  the  children  of  the  prophets,  and  of  the  covenant 
which  God  made  with  our  father." 

The  general  events  which  are  interspersed  in  the  record, 
along  with  the  covenant  and  the  theophanies,  do  not  disturb 
the  unity.  Indeed,  one  and  another  of  the  covenant-promises 
explain,  or  are  explained  by,  the  separation  of  Lot,  the  slaughter 
of  the  kings,  the  benediction  granted  by  Melchizedek,  the  mar- 
riage with  Hagar,  the  birth  and  exile  of  Ishmael,  the  intercession 
of  Abraham  for  the  cities  of  the  plain,  and  their  overthrow, 
together  with  the  purchase  of  Machpelah,  and  the  burial  there 
of  Sarah  and  Abraham.  In  what  is  to  follow,  therefore,  the 
entire  contents  of  the  ten  theophanic  revelations  will  be  treated 
as  the  pre-intimations  or  recapitulations  of  the  one  Abraham ic 
covenant,  with  which  they  are  indissolubly  connected.  All  the 
commands  and  promises  will  be  treated  as  integral  parts  of 
the  covenant,  or  explanations  thereof. 


232  SACRED  UI STORY. 


CHAPTER    XVI. 

THE   PROMISED   LAISTD. 

SoiVEE  of  the  leading  promises  of  the  covenant  relate  to  the 
chosen  land ;  other  promises  relate  to  the  chosen  seed.  The 
covenant,  in  its  first  stage,  deals  chiefly  with  the  inheritance ; 
in  the  second,  with  the  heirs  of  the  blessing  ;  although  in  each 
stage,  the  main  benefit  secured  by  the  other  is  distinctly  pointed 
out. 

In  regard  to  the  chosen  land,  it  is  to  be  observed  that  Abra- 
ham was  not  required  to  quit  his  native  city  and  go  to  a  region 
of  his  own  selection.  Jehovah,  having  chosen  for  himself  a 
particular  family,  reserved  also  to  himself  the  designation  of 
the  country  which  should  be  its  future  home.  There  is  reason 
to  believe  that  this  designation  was  made  by  the  Almighty  not 
later  than  the  dispersion  of  mankind  at  the  Tower  of  Babel. 
In  the  prophecy  of  Noah,  the  weight  of  the  curse  which  became 
the  portion  of  Ham  was  laid  on  his  son  Canaan.  At  the  dis- 
persion. Ham's  posterity,  at  that  time  expanded  into  eleven 
families,  took  possession  of  the  country  which  afterwards  bore 
the  dishonored  name  of  their  ancestor,  and  was  called  the  land 
of  Canaan.  When  Abraham,  three  hundred  years  later,  came  to 
Shechem,  "the  Canaanite  was  then  in  the  land"  (Gen.  xii.  6). 
That  race  is  identified  in  the  record  with  the  emigrants  from 
Shinar  (Gen.  x.  15-18,  xv.  21 ;  1  Chron.  i.  13-16).  Noah  had 
declared  that  Canaan  should  be  the  servant  of  Shem,  and  Abram 
was  a  Shemite. 

The  Canaanites  were  providentially  appointed,  unconsciously 
to  themselves,  to  serve  Abraham  and  his  seed  by  holding  their 
country  in  trust  for  the  use  of  his  posterity.     The  trust  ran 


A   LAND    OF  SCATTERED    TRIBES.  233 

through  about  eight.hundred  years,  from  the  dispersion  at  Babel 
to  the  conquest  hy  Joshua.  For  this  purpose,  it  was  essential 
that  no  great  nation  should  be  established  within  its  boundaries. 
Egypt  on  the  south-west,  and  Assyria  towards  the  east,  were 
settled  simultaneously  with  the  future  Palestine,  and  settled 
also  by  the  posterity  of  Canaan's  kindred.  Egypt  and  Assyria 
became  powerful  and  populous,  and  the  seats  of  splendid  mate- 
rial civilizations.  Canaan  was  held  by  the  native  tribes  as  a 
simple  pasture-ground.  The  land  was  scarcely  less  fertile,  and 
as  the  home  of  a  great  and  warlike  population  was  not  less 
inviting,  than  the  banks  of  the  Nile  and  the  Euphrates.  In 
after  ages,  the  kingdom  of  David  arose  on  its  soil  to  dispute,  in 
wealth  and  power,  the  position  of  all  the  old-world  empires. 
Until  Abraham  and  Joshua  came,  Canaan  resembled  New  Eng- 
land and  Virginia  before  the  era  of  Plymouth  and  Jamestown, 
waiting  for  the  coming  of  the  white  man.  Now,  if  Canaan  had 
antedated  its  brilliant  future,  and  had,  shortly  after  its  first 
settlement,  become  a  wealthy  and  populous  nation,  in  that  case 
the  task  set  before  Josliua  would  have  been  not  less  formidable 
than  would  have  been  tlie  enslavement  of  the  Egyptians  by 
Moses,  or  the  conquest  of  Assyria  by  Abraham.  And  yet,  on 
the  other  hand,  it  must  not  be  forgotten  that  the  country  was 
defended  from  the  greed  of  both  Egypt  and  Assyria.  Before 
the  arrival  of  Abram,  the  allied  kings  of  the  Euphrates  had 
marched  on  the  valley  of  the  lower  Jordan,  and  reduced  the 
sheiks  and  cities  tliere  to  vassalage.  On  a  second  raid,  the 
marauders  were  utterly  routed  by  Abram  in  what  is  known  as 
"  the  slaughter  of  the  kings."  From  that  time  forth,  so  far  as 
can  be  ascertained,  the  Canaanites  were  never  molested,  but 
held  the  land  in  quiet  possession  for  the  Hebrews. 

Under  the  plan  of  Providence  in  regard  to  the  promised  land, 
the  Canaanites  were  not  sufficiently  advanced  in  civilization  to 
form  their  separate  families  into  a  union  for  common  defence. 
Their  government  was  tribal,  not  national.  In  this  respect 
they  resembled  the  American  Indians  of  modern  times,  who 
have  never  been  able  to  combine  their  scattered  tribes  into  a 
single  nationality.     Instead  of  massing  their  forces   in  a  war 


234  SACRED  IIISTOEY. 

with  the  white  race,  they  have  wasted  their  strength  in  fighting 
one  another,  or  in  risking  every  thing  on  single-handed  strug- 
gles with  a  compact  government  and  a  disciplined  soldiery. 
In  like  manner,  when  the  hosts  of  Israel  crossed  the  Jordan, 
they  gained  easy  victories  over  the  disjointed  tribes  of  the 
Canaanites,  routing  them  in  detail.  It  is  easy  to  discover  the 
plan  of  Providence  in  giving  to  the  country  a  population  strong 
enough  to  hold  the  ground  against  foreign  tribes^  but  too  weak 
to  resist  the  Hebrew  forces  led  by  Joshua.  This  was  the  home 
so  early  selected,  so  safely  kept,  which  Providence  had  pro- 
vided for  the  chosen  seed. 

The  process  by  which  the  inheritance  was  transferred,  and 
made  sure  to  the  heirs  of  the  blessing,  is  precisely  set  forth 
in  the  record.  At  the  Divine  command,  Abram  left  his  native 
Chaldsea,  and  went  to  another  and  unknown  country.  On  his 
arrival  at  Shechem,  Jehovah  said  to  him,  "  Unto  thy  seed  will 
I  give  this  land."  Abram  immediately  took  possession  of  the 
domain  in  the  name  of  the  Almighty.  In  token  thereof  he 
built  an  altar  unto  the  Lord,  even  as  the  explorer  in  modern 
times  takes  possession  of  a  newly  discovered  region  in  the 
name  of  his  sovereign,  and  as  a  monument  of  title  sets  up  a 
column  or  a  crucifix,  or  plants  a  flag  upon  the  soil.  The  extent 
of  the  inheritance  was  indicated  to  Abram  by  the  gift  of  all  the 
territory  that  he  could  see  from  the  heights  of  Bethel,  and  in 
a  thorough  exploration  of  the  country. 

In  the  first  stage  of  the  covenant,  God  pointed  out  the 
boundaries  of  the  great  estate,  and  that  in  two  forms :  the 
geographical,  extending  from  the  valley  of  the  Nile  to  the  valley 
of  the  Euphrates ;  and  the  tribal,  describing  by  name  the  native 
tribes  at  that  time  in  possession  (Gen.  xv.  18-21).  In  the  sec- 
ond stage  of  the  covenant,  the  gift  was  secured  to  Abram  for 
"an  everlasting  possession."  The  royal  charters  of  modern 
times,  by  which  outlying  jDrovinces  are  conveyed  to  colonies  or 
individuals,  are  not  more  explicit.  Abram  took  his  title  directly 
from  the  Almighty ;  he  held  of  the  crown.  The  estate  was 
vested  in  him  and  in  his  posterity  forever.  The  metes  and 
bounds  were  fixed.     The  land  claims  of  the  native  tribes  were, 


ADAPTATIONS   OF  THE  LAND.  235 

in  clue  time,  declared  to  be  subject  to  forfeiture.  Proof  of  title 
was  set  out  in  a  covenant  between  Jehovah,  the  party  making, 
and  Abraham,  the  party  taking,  the  gift.  A  clause  declaring 
the  grant  perpetual  was  inserted.  To  make  it  all  sure,  the 
agreement  was  sealed  by  both  the  parties;  the  Almighty 
appointing  for  that  purpose  the  sign  of  circumcision,  and 
Abraham  putting  the  sign  in  his  flesh.  It  was  further  stipu- 
lated that  the  same  mark  should  be  put  upon  his  heirs  male  of 
every  generation,  showing  that  the  estate  was  theirs  by  a  direct 
inheritance,  and  for  an  inalienable  possession.  And  to  finish 
the  transaction,  a  recital  of  all  the  facts  and  circumstances, 
together  with  a  copy  of  the  covenants,  and  a  description  of  the 
seal,  was,  in  due  time,  recorded  on  the  pages  of  an  inspired 
volume,  and  published  to  the  world.  From  the  pains  taken  in 
this  transaction,  it  may  be  inferred  that,  in  all  ages,  the  chosen 
seed  found  in  the  chosen  land  a  home  precisely  adapted  to  the 
destiny  set  before  them. 

One  of  God's  purposes  respecting  the  Hebrews  was  tliat 
they  should  dwell  apart  from  all  other  races  for  long  ages,  and 
then  be  established  in  the  highway  of  the  nations.  This  pur- 
pose looked  to  the  gradual  preparation  of  Christianity  for  the 
world,  and  then,  at  the  set  time,  for  its  universal  diffusion. 
The  isolation  of  Canaan,  down  to  the  schism  of  the  ten  tribes, 
was  complete.  It  was,  in  a  certain  sense,  an  island  on  the  edge 
of  a  continent.  On  the  north  arose  the  ramparts  of  Lebanon, 
and  its  redoubts  were  protected  by  the  deep  gorges  of  the  river 
Litany,  serving  the  purpose  of  the  ditch  in  the  plan  of  a 
modern  fortress.  On  the  east  and  south,  inhospitable  deserts, 
at  that  time  rarely  traversed  by  caravans,  spread  themselves 
away  towards  the  Euphrates  and  the  .Nile ;  and  the  sea,  never 
yet  traversed  by  fleets,  shut  off  the  land  from  the  regions  of 
the  West.  Moreover,  the  position  of  Canaan,  relative  to  the 
domains  of  other  nations,  contributed  much  to  its  seclusion. 
Egypt  was  far  removed  towards  the  south-west;  the  warlike 
tribes  of  the  east  were  encamped  on  the  distant  Euphrates ; 
Asia  Minor,  and  Europe  with  its  adjacent  islands,  were  thickly 
peopled  by  barbarians.     Britain  was  not  discovered  before  the 


236  SACRED  HISTORY. 

days  of  Moses ;  Greece  was  but  sj^arsely  settled  until  the  reign 
of  David,  and  Rome  was  not  founded  until  David  had  been 
dead  two  hundred  and  fifty  years.  Through  all  these  periods 
the  Hebrews  dwelt  alone  in  their  home,  and  Jehovah  was 
laying  in  the  midst  of  them  the  foundations  of  his  kingdom. 

When  Palestine  had  fulfilled  its  prescribed  mission,  and  all 
things  were  ready  for  the  ingathering  of  the  Gentiles,  the 
chosen  land,  instead  of  being  an  isolated  region,  had  become 
central  to  all  nations.  Before  the  advent  of  Christ,  flourishing 
and  powerful  kingdoms  had  risen  in  Lesser  Asia,  in  Syria,  on 
the  Tigris  and  Euphrates,  in  the  Peloponnesus,  on  the  Tiber 
and  the  Nile,  and  on  the  shores  of  the  Persian  Gulf.  Palestine 
was  surrounded  by  the  capitals  of  these  kingdoms.  It  pushed 
itself  out  into  the  Mediterranean,  holding  the  outposts  of  Asia, 
and  fronting  the  coasts  of  populous  Africa  and  Europe.  The 
sea  and  the  deserts  were  now  no  longer  the  barriers,  but  the 
thoroughfares  of  commerce  and  of  war.  Moreover,  sixt3"-three 
years  before  Christ,  Jerusalem  was  taken  by  Pompey,  and 
Palestine  became  a  part  of  the  Roman  Empire.  In  the  age  of 
the  Antonines,  Jerusalem  became  the  eastern  termination  of  a 
great  road,  which,  according  to  Mr.  Gibbon,  issued  from  the 
Forum  of  Rome,  and  pervaded  the  provinces.  This  chain  of 
communication  was  drawn  out  three  thousand  seven  hundred 
and  forty  English  miles  from  the  north-west  to  the  south-east 
point  of  the  empire.  It  united  Jerusalem  by  land  and  by 
navigable  waters  to  Tyre,  Antioch,  Tarsus,  Ancyra,  Byzantium, 
Bruiidusium,  Rome,  Milan,  Lyons,  Rheims,  Sandwich,  London, 
and  York,  —  a  highway  for  the  gospel,  traversing  every  quarter 
of  the  known  world.  The  Plain  of  Esdraelon  was  the  natural 
route,  to  and  fro,  for  the  armies  of  the  east  and  the  west,  — 
Assyria  marching  on  Egypt,  Egypt  marching  on  Assyria,  and 
Rome  on  the  Parthians.  As  Mr.  Stanley  remarks :  "  Palestine 
became  the  high  bridge  over  which  the  nations  ascended  and 
descended  into  the  deep  basins  of  the  Nile  and  the  Euphrates." 
While  seclusion  was  needful  in  order  that  redemption  might  be 
i:)repared,  the  Holy  Land  was  the  most  secluded  spot  on  the 
inhabited  globe.     When  publicity  became  necessary,  in  order 


kOIL,    CLIMATE,   AND   FRUITS.  237 

that  the  story  of  the  gospel  might  be  spread  among  all  nations, 
the  Ploly  Land  became  the  umbilicus  terrarum,  the  common 
centre  around  which  the  cities  and  empires  of  the  three  conti- 
nents were  gathered,  waiting  for  the  coming  salvation.  By  the 
combination  of  these  two  opposite  conditions,  isolation  and  pub- 
licity,—  the  first  in  the  earlier,  the  last  in  the  later  ages,  —  the 
words  of  both  Balaam  and  Ezekiel  were  fulfilled  to  the  letter. 
In  the  days  of  Joshua,  Balaam  said,  "  Lo,  the  people  shall 
dwell  alone,  and  shall  not  be  numbered  among  the  nations " 
(Num.  xxiii.  9).  A  thousand  years  afterward,  Ezekiel  wrote, 
"  Thus  saith  the  Lord  God :  This  is  Jerusalem,  I  have  set  it  in 
the  midst  of  the  nations  and  countries  that  are  round  about 
her  "  (Ezek.  v.  5). 

Secondly,  Canaan  was  well  adapted,  by  its  soil,  climate,  and 
productions,  to  the  purposes  for  which  it  was  intended.  God 
himself  described  its  fertility  to  Moses :  "  a  good  land,  flowing 
with  milk  and  honey."  Moses  described  it  to  the  Hebrews  as 
"•a  good  land,  a  land  of  brooks  of  water,  of  fountains  that 
spring  out  of  valleys  and  hills  ;  a  land  of  wheat,  and  barley,  and 
vines,  and  pomegranates  ;  a  land  of  olive-oil,  and  honey ;  a  land 
wherein  thou  shalt  eat  bread  without  scarceness,  thou  shalt  not 
lack  any  thing  in  it ;  a  land  whose  stones  are  iron,  and  out  of 
whose  hills  thou  mayest  dig  brass"  (Deut.  viii.  7-9).  The 
effect  of  these  direct  statements  is  heightened  by  contrasts  with 
Egypt,  whence  the  people  had  come.  Egypt  was  a  dry  and 
dreary  land ;  Canaan  was  a  land  of  hills  and  valleys.  Rain 
rarely  fell  in  Egypt ;  the  soil  was  watered  by  the  Nile,  or  by 
the  foot  driving  the  pumping-wheels,  like  the  treadmills  which 
are  still  in  use.  In  Canaan  the  earth  drank  the  rain  from 
heaven ;  both  the  former  rain,  falling  in  the  autumn,  the  time 
of  sowing,  and  the  latter  rain  falling  in  the  spring,  when  the 
wheat  and  barley  were  growing  towards  the  harvest.  And, 
further,  Jehovah  had  taken  Canaan  under  his  special  care ;  his 
eye  was  always  upon  it ;  to  him  the  people  should  always  look, 
and  on  him,  as  their  first  duty,  they  ought  always  to  depend 
(Deut.  xi.  10-12). 
,    The  productiveness  of  the  soil  may  be  measured,  also,  by  the 


238  S  ACE  ED  HISTOBY. 

immense  population  which  it  supported.  The  area  of  territory 
occupied  by  the  kingdom  of  David  is  estimated  by  some  at 
twelve  thousand  five  hundred,  and  by  others  at  eleven  thou- 
sand square  miles.  According  to  the  census  taken  by  David, 
there  were  in  his  kingdom  from  one  million  three  hundred 
thousand,  to  one  million  five  hundred  thousand  men  capable 
of  bearing  arms  (2  Sam.  xxiv.  9).  If  a  population  be  reckoned 
at  four  times  the  number  of  its  fighting  men,  there  were  at 
that  time  between  five  and  six  millions  of  inhabitants  in  the 
country,  —  or  about  four  hundred  to  the  square  mile.^ 

Still  further,  the  present  aspect  of  the  country,  denuded  and 
depopulated  though  it  be,  exhibits  marked  indications  of  former 
prosperity  and  populousness.  Traces  of  ancient  cultivation  are 
visible  on  every  available  spot  in  the  plains  and  mountains. 
"  Above  all  other  countries  in  the  world  it  is  a  land  of  ruinsy 
"  In  Judtea  it  is  hardly  an  exaggeration  to  say,  that  whilst  for 
miles  and  miles  there  is  no  appearance  of  present  life  or  habita- 
tion, except  the  occasional  goat-herd  on  the  hillside  or  gathering 
of  women  at  the  wells,  there  is  hardly  a  hilltop  of  the  many 
within  sight  which  is  not  covered  by  the  vestiges  of  some 
fortress  or  city  of  former  ages."  "In  Eastern  Palestine,  the 
ancient  cities  remain  in  like  manner  deserted,  ruined,  but  stand- 
ing :  not  mere  masses  and  heaps  of  stone,  but  towns  and  houses, 
in  a  state  of  preservation  which  has  no  parallel  except  in  the 
cities  of  Herculaneum  and  Pompeii."  ^  These  countless  ruins 
testify  directly  to  the  former  populousness  of  Palestine,  and 
indirectly  to  the  productiveness  of  the  soil  which  supported  the 
Hebrews.  The  fertility  of  Canaan  attracted  the  attention  of 
the  ancient  Egyptians.  One  of  them  speaks,  even  before 
Abraham's  day,  of  the  cornfields,  figs,  vineyards,  and  fortresses 
of  Canaan.  Another  of  later  date,  but  still  earlier  than  the 
patriarchs,  speaks  of  it  as  "abounding  in  wine  more  than  in 
water  ; "  "  of  the  plenteousness  of  the  honey  and  the  palm  ;  " 
adding  that  "  all  its  trees  were  fruit-bearing,  and  that  it  yielded 
barley  and  wheat,  and  had  no  end  of  cattle."^ 

1  Keil  and  Delitzsch:  2  Sam.  xxiv.  1.  2  Stanley:  Sin.  and  Pal.,  p.  118. 

3  Geikie:  Hours,  etc.,  vol.  i.  p.  347. 


VARIETIES   OF  CLIMATE.  239 

The  conditions  of  physical  geography,  which  remain  un- 
changed from  age  to  age,  point  to  the  same  conclusions.  Dr. 
Robinson  says  that  the  climate  of  Palestine  resembles  that  of 
Northern  Africa  and  the  Gulf  States  of  America.  Nowhere  is 
the  sunlight  brighter,  or  the  atmosphere  more  transparent,  or  the 
air  more  bracing.  Considering  the  smallness  of  the  territory, 
no  country  on  earth  presents  so  many  physical  diversities.  In 
shape  and  size,  Palestine  resembles  the  State  of  New  Hamp- 
shire ;  and  yet,  within  that  narrow  compass  are  held  divers 
climates,  —  temperate  in  the  region  of  Lebanon,  semi-tropical  in 
the  valley  of  the  Jordan,  and  wintry  on  the  snowy  summit  of 
Hermon.  The  Holy  Land  has  been  described  as  the  "epitome 
of  the  habitable  world."  ^  Its  varied  aspects  easily  supplied 
the  sacred  writers  with  a  wealth  of  illustration,  and  happy 
turns  of  thought,  in  striking  contrast  with  the  poverty  of 
expression  so  conspicuous  in  the  sacred  books  of  India,  China, 
and  Arabia.  From  this  remarkable  microcosm  proceeded  a 
book  for  all  lands.  The  Moravian  missionaries  in  Greenland, 
in  Jamaica,  in  South  Africa,  and'  Thibet,  may  find  in  the  Psalms 
of  David  imagery  for  their  songs  of  praise,  descriptive  of  the 
scenery  around  themselves.  So  varied  were  the  resources  of 
the  Holy  Land,  that  they  gave  effect  to  the  severity  as  well  as 
the  goodness  of  God. 

The  sacred  writers,  as  late  as  Ezekiel,  took  delight  in  calling 
their  country  "  a  land  flowing  with  milk  and  honey,  the  glory  of 
all  lands."  But  they  did  not  fail  to  recognize  the  instruments 
of  punishment  for  the  guilt  of  sin,  and  of  chastisement  for 
purification  from  sin,  lurking  in  their  native  soil  and  climate. 
A  famine  drove  Abram,  and  afterwards  Jacob  in  his  old  age, 
into  Egypt.  The  hot  breath  from  the  desert  consumed  the 
strength  of  the  people.  In  the  reign  of  David,  a  pestilence 
killed  seventy  thousand  men  in  a  single  day, — a  destruction 
of  life,  in  so  short  a  time,  unknown  elsewhere  in  the  world. 
There  were  earthquakes  in  divers  places.  Swarms  of  locusts 
darkened  the  sun  in  their  flight,  and  fell  to  the  earth,  devour- 
ing every  green  thing  (Joel,  chaps,  i.  and  ii.).     God  himself 

1  Geikie:  Hours,  etc.,  vol.  i.  p.  S47. 


240  SACRED  HISTOEY. 

reminded  the  people  that  he  had  sent  "  cleanness  of  teeth  "  mto 
their  dwellings  ;  that  blasting  and  mildew  and  the  palmer-worm 
had  followed  the  famine ;  the  plague  from  Egypt  had  followed 
the  blasting,  mildew,  and  palmer-worm ;  and  the  overthrow  of 
Sodom  and  Gomorrah,  visited  on  some  of  them,  had  followed 
the  plagues.  So  closely  were  they  besieged  by  these  destroyers, 
that,  running  away  from  one,  they  would  run  in  upon  another : 
"as  if  a  man  did  flee  from  a  lion,  and  a  bear  met  him ;  or  went 
into  the  house,  and  leaned  his  hand  on  the  wall,  and  a  serpent 
bit  him  "  (Amos  iv.,  v.  19). 

The  blessings  and  the  curses  of  God  upon  the  Promised  Land 
were  closely  associated.  Not  only  so,  but  the  rabbins  them- 
selves clearly  perceived  that  Canaan  was  adapted  to  both.  The 
judgments  of  God  upon  the  people  took  the  form  of  the  calami- 
ties which  were  natural  to  the  country.  In  a  certain  sense,  the 
mildew,  the  locust,  and  the  pestilence  were,  like  the  leprosy, 
native  born.  It  may  not  be  proper  to  say  that  they  were  in- 
digenous to  the  climate,  like  the  corn,  olive,  and  vine,  because 
their  occurrence  was  occasional  only,  not  regulated  by  the  course 
of  the  seasons.  The  use  which  the  Almighty  made  of  one  or 
other  of  these  inflictions  for  the  purposes  of  chastisement,  re- 
vealed his  supreme  dominion  over  all  the  elements  and  forces 
of  nature,  as  well  as  his  anger  against  sin,  and  his  intention  to 
purify  his  chosen  people  through  suffering. 

This  train  of  thought  enables  us  to  explain  the  present  de- 
nuded and  depopulated  condition  of  the  Holy  Land.  From 
the  day  when  the  Lord  was  crucified,  the  curse  wliich  his 
murderers  invoked  on  themselves  and  on  their  children  has 
rested  also  on  their  native  soil.  After  the  fall  of  Jerusalem, 
the  country  was  for  many  hundred  years  the  battle-ground 
of  the  neighboring  empires.  At  the  Mohammedan  conquest, 
in  the  seventh  century,  Palestine  became  a  province  of  the 
Empire  of  the  Caliphs.  On  the  dissolution  of  the  empire,  the 
unhappy  country  was  for  five  centuries  laid  waste  by  the  Fa- 
timites,  the  Seljookian  Turks,  the  Crusaders,  the  Mamelukes 
of  Egypt,  and  the  hordes  of  Tartary,  until  in  A.D.  1517  it  fell 
into  the  hands  of  Selim,  and  became  a  part  of  the  Ottoman 


UOLY  LAND   OF  TO-DAY.  241 

Empire,  and  so  continues  until  this  day.  The  Turk,  by  per- 
petual misrule,  military  conscription,  forced  labor ;  by  the  greed 
of  the  Sultan  and  the  corruption  of  his  pachas,  aided  by  lejorosy 
and  the  plagues,  —  has  almost  destroyed  whatever  of  industry 
and  thrift  had  survived  the  wars  of  the  previous  six  hundred 
years.  The  terraces  which  once  girdled  the  hills,  and  were 
clothed  with  the  blush  of  flowers  and  with  the  vine,  have  been 
broken  down,  and  the  mould  washed  away,  denuding  long 
sheets  of  limestone  rocks.  Shade-trees  and  the  forests  have 
been  destroyed,  exposing  the  soil  to  the  scorching  Sja-ian  sun. 
Malaria  poisons  the  sweet  air,  and  the  holy  and  beautiful  land 
is  a  perpetual  desolation.  And  yet,  in  the  midst  of  barrenness 
and  poverty,  vestiges  of  its  former  beauty  and  fertility  remain, 
sufficient  to  justify  the  sacred  writers  in  their  frequent  repeti- 
tion of  the  assurance  that  Canaan  was  a  land  flowing  with  milk 
and  honey,  and  was  the  glor}^  of  all  lands.  The  irrepressible 
vigor  with  which  nature  asserts  itself  in  the  midst  of  desola- 
tion is  set  forth  by  Dr.  Edward  Robinson.  He  describes 
flourishing  vineyards  spreading  over  Lebanon  and  around  tlie 
cities  ;  gardens  of  fig-trees  and  pomegranates ;  the  orange  and 
lemon  groves  on  the  coast;  and  elsewhere  the  various  fruits 
and  vegetables,  common  some  of  them  to  the  temperate  and 
others  to  the  semi-tropical  latitudes  of  our  own  continent.^ 
Other  authorities  speak  of  "oak  forests  still  on  Bashan  ;  the 
evergreen  shrubberies  on  Carmel ;  the  rich  pastures  on  Sharon, 
Moab,  and  Gilead ;  and  the  full  blush  of  spring  flowers  all  over 
the  land."  ^  Dean  Stanley  draws  a  charming  picture :  "  In  the 
spring  the  hills  and  valleys  are  covered  with  thin  grass,  and 
the  aromatic  shrubs  which  clothe  more  or  less  the  whole  of 
Syria  and  Arabia.  But  they  also  glow  with  what  is  peculiar 
to  Palestine,  a  profusion  of  wild  daisies,  the  white  flower  called 
the  Star  of  Bethlehem,  but  especially  with  a  blaze  of  scarlet 
flowers  of  all  kinds,  chiefly  anemones,  wild  tulips,  and  pop- 
pies."^    But  it  must  be  added,  these  spring  flowers,  with  all 

1  Robinson  :  Geog.,  pp.  379,  380. 

2  McClintock  and  Strong  :  Encyc,  vii.  p.  773. 
8  Stanley's  Palestine,  pp.  137,  138. 


242  SACRED  EISTORY. 

their  glory,  wither  and  vanish  before  tlie  first  fierce  rays  of 
the  summer  sun  ;  "  to-day  in  the  field,  to-morrow  cast  into  the 
oven." 

We  shall  miss  sight  of  the  supreme  blessings  conveyed  in  the 
gift  of  Canaan  if  we  limit  them  to  the  earthly  inheritance  of 
Abraham  and  his  posterity,  after  the  analogy  of  the  new  home 
made  on  this  continent  by  the  settlers  of  Jamestown  and 
Plymouth.  By  the  discoveries  made  to  his  faith,  the  patriarch 
looked  beyond  the  temporal  and  the  transient,  to  the  eternal 
and  the  immutable.  He  perceived  that  Canaan  was  the  symbol 
of  a  better  land,  even  as  the  nation  was  the  symbol  of  a  spirit- 
ual kingdom ;  and  the  temporal,  of  an  eternal  inheritance. 
Paul  to  the  Hebrews,  chap,  xi.,  shows  that  a  heavenly  country 
as  well  as  the  earthly  was  intended  by  the  gift  of  the  promised 
land,  and  that  Abraham  understood  the  supreme  value  of  the 
gift. 

1.  Paul  begins  his  exposition  with  the  act  of  faith  whereby 
Abram,  at  the  command  of  God,  left  his  own  country,  and 
went  to  another,  the  name  and  geography  of  which  were  un- 
known to  him.  2.  By  another  act  of  faith  he  was  contented 
to  "sojourn"  in  that  country,  not  attempting  to  settle  his 
family  in  any  permanent  home.  He  never  forgot  that  he  was 
living  in  a  strange  land.  For  the  most  of  his  life  he  dwelt  in 
movable  tents.  He  fed  his  flocks  on  the  pastures  which  were 
free  to  all  shepherds,  through  the  period  of  more  than  a  hun- 
dred years  ;  but  when  he  was  an  old  man  he  did  not  own,  nor 
had  he  sought  to  own,  a  foot  of  the  soil,  except  a  place  of 
burial.  But  from  the  curtains  of  his  tent  he  looked  forward 
and  upward  to  a  permanent  and  eternal  home,  to  a  city  rest- 
ing on  foundations,  fashioned  and  built  by  the  Almighty. 
3.  Abram's  manner  of  life  was  followed  by  Isaac  and  Jacob  : 
pilgrinis  always,  and  homeless.  But  they  all  died  in  faith,  not 
having  obtained  actual  possession  of  the  inheritance.  Instead 
thereof,  they  saw  from  afar  the  gift  of  a  numerous  posterity ; 
the  gift  of  the  earthly  Canaan  to  their  remote  descendants ;  the 
consummate  gift  to  themselves  of  a  heavenly  inheritance. 
They  were   persuaded  of  the   reality  of  the   promises;   they 


PROMISED  LAND  INDEED.  243 

embraced  them  ;  and  in  the  joy  set  before  them,  they  confessed 
that  Canaan  was  not  their  home. .  Nor  was  their  ancestral 
IVIesopotamia  their  home.  When  they  might  have  had  oppor- 
tunity to  return,  they  refused  to  go  ;  for  tliey  looked  for  a  better 
country,  even  a  heavenly.  4.  "We  are  plainly  taught,  that,  while 
Abraham  was  happy  in  the  goodly  land  of  Canaan,  he  desired 
the  heavenly  country,  and  he  interpreted  the  covenant  as  at 
once  a  revelation  and  a  conveyance  to  him  of  that  other  coun- 
try (Heb.  xi.  16).  It  is  right  to  imagine  that  Abraham  in  one 
of  his  journeys  visited  the  heights  of  Gilead.  There  he  beheld 
a  view  which  Horsely  Palmer  declared  to  be  the  "  finest  he  had 
ever  seen  in  any  part  of  the  world."  ^  Lebanon,  Carmel,  the 
Plain  of  Esdraelon,  together  with  the  bright  waters  of  the  Sea 
of  Galilee  and  of  the  Mediterranean,  graved  themselves  upon 
the  picture.  A  greater  joy,  a  broader  splendor,  were  in  reserve 
for  him.  By  faith  he  was  carried  to  a  summit  higher  than 
Gilead.  There  the  firmament  was  lifted  up,  the  horizon  was 
expanded,  and  the  skies  were  flooded  with  a  light  above  the 
brightness  of  the  sun.  His  eyes  were  opened  upon  a  vast 
illuminated  sphere  embracing  "the  heavenly  inheritance,  the 
heavenly  rest,  the  heavenly  city,"  the  promised  land  indeed. 

1  Stanley:  Palestine,  p.  315. 


244  SACBED  HISTORY. 


CHAPTER   XVII. 

THE  PEo:^^SED  seed. 

From  time  to  time  God  said  to  Abraham :  "  Unto  thy  seed 
will  I  give  this  land."  "  In  thy  seed  shall  all  the  nations  of  the 
earth  be  blessed."  "  I  will  multiply  thy  seed  as  the  stars  of 
heaven,  and  as  the  sand  which  is  upon  the  seashore."  "In 
Isaac  shall  thy  seed  be  called."  "  Of  the  son  "  (Ishmael)  "  of 
the  bondwoman  "  (Hagar),  "  wdll  I  make  a  nation,  because  he 
is  thy  seed."  The  leading  word  here  is  "seed."  It  is  applied 
to  Abraham's  posterity  in  four  different  significations :  describ- 
ing his  legitimate  offspring  through  Isaac  and  Jacob ;  his  dis- 
inherited posterity  through  Hagar,  Keturah,  and  Esau ;  his 
Divine  seed,  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ ;  and  his  spiritual  children 
among  both  Jews  and  Gentiles. 

1.  Isaac,  Jacob,  the  twelve  patriarchs,  and  their  lineal 
descendants  to  this  day,  constitute  the  legitimate  seed  of 
Abraham.  These  are  the  people  of  whom  is  told  the  story 
of  the  monarchy,  the  captivity,  and  the  dispersion.  To  them 
were  given  the  legislation  of  Sinai,  the  land  of  Canaan,  the 
tabernacle,  priesthood,  ritual,  and  holy  seasons,  together  with 
the  assurance  of  a  Messiah.  They  were  the  seed  of  Abraham 
in  a  sense  which  excluded  all  the  sons  of  Hagar  and  Keturah. 
Paul  made  a  distinction  between  the  natural  descendants  of 
the  patriarchs,  and  the  select  portion  of  them  whom  he  calls  the 
"  children :  "  "  Neither  because  they  are  the  seed  of  Abraham 
are  they  all  children  ;  but,  In  Isaac  shall  thy  seed  be  called " 
(Rom.  ix.  7;  Gen.  xxi.  12). 

2.  The  offspring  of  Abraham,  in  his  marriages  w^ith  Hagar 
and  Keturah,  and  his  grandson  Esau,  became  the  progenitors  of 


"SEED"    AXB   "SEEDS."  245 

disinherited  races.  Upon  the  peculiar  blessings  which  God 
pronounced  on  Ishmael,  he  imposed  this  limitation:  "But  my 
covenant  will  I  establish  with  Isaac  "  (Gen.  xvii.  21).  To  the 
same  effect  God  said  to  Sarah,  "In  Isaac  shall  thy  seed  be 
called"  (xxi.  12).  By  the  Divine  command,  Ishmael  was 
banished  for  life  from  the  land  of  Canaan,  and  "  he  dwelt  in 
the  wilderness  of  Paran "  (xxi.  21).  In  his  marriage  with 
Keturah,  Abraham  had  six  sons.  Before  the  patriarch  died  he 
gave  them  presents,  and  sent  them  into  Arabia.  He  bequeathed 
his  entire  inheritance  to  Isaac.  Isaac  at  his  father's  death,  and 
Jacob  at  Isaac's  death,  became  the  sole  representatives  of  the 
promised  land,  with  reversion  to  their  posterity.  Abraham, 
therefore,  had  a  seed  and  again  a  seed ;  one,  a  legitimate  seed, 
the  heirs  of  Canaan ;  the  other  a  seed  after  the  flesh,  who  had 
no  inheritance  whatever  in  their  native  land. 

3.  The  Lord  Jesus  is,  in  the  supreme  sense  of  the  term,  the 
seed  of  Abraham.  Paul's  explanation  is:  "Now  to  Abraham 
and  his  seed  were  the  promises  made.  He  saith  not,  And  to 
seeds,  as  of  many ;  but  as  of  one.  And  to  thy  seed,  which  is 
Christ"  (Gal.  iii.  16).  Paul  is  charged  with  having  endeav- 
ored to  support  his  argument  by  a  verbal  quibble  on  the  words 
"  seed  "  and  "  seeds."  And  yet,  in  point  of  fact,  he  sets  forth 
here  two  distinct  declarations,  in  both  of  which  he  interprets 
accurately  the  Divine  word.  First,  Jesus  Christ  is  a  direct 
descendant  of  Abraham,  through  Isaac,  Jacob,  and  Judah. 
This  declaration  is  supported  by  the  genealogical  registers  set 
out  at  large  by  Matthew  and  Luke.  In  the  second  place,  Paul 
declares  that  there  is  but  one  Saviour  of  sinners,  and  that  is 
Christ.  On  tlie  one  hand,  the  term  "  seed  of  Abraham "  is 
sometimes  used  collectively  to  describe  the  children  of  God, 
e.g.,  "  If  ye  be  Christ's,  then  are  ye  Abraham's  seed,  and  heirs 
according  to  the  promise  "  (Gal.  iii.  29).  On  the  other  hand, 
the  word  "  seed  "  in  the  singular  number,  never  "  seeds  "  in  the 
plural,  is  employed  when  the  posterity  of  the  three  patriarchs 
is  spoken  of  as  the  efficient  agent  of  salvation.  God  said  to 
Abraham  at  the  altar  of  Isaac :  "  In  thy  seed  shall  all  nations 
of  the  earth  be  blessed"  (Gen.  xxii.  18).     To  Isaac  at  Gerar, 


246  SACRED  HISTORY. 

he  spoke  similar  words  (xxvi.  4) ;  and,  again,  to  Jacob  at  Bethel 
(xxviii.  14).  Now  in  Gal.  iii.  16,  Paul  takes  up  this  reiterated 
promise,  and  declares  that  the  word  "  seed  "  used  therein  points 
distinctly  to  Clirist ;  and  that  the  word  is  not  "  seeds,"  as  if 
there  were  many,  but  "  seed,"  only  one,  —  in  the  singular 
number.  That  is  to  say,  men  are  redeemed,  not  by  the  pos- 
terity of  Abraham  collectively,  nor  by  a  commission,  select  and 
holy,  taken  out  of  Abraham's  descendants ;  they  are  redeemed 
by  one,  a  single  one,  of  his  offspring.  This  ruling  idea  is 
confirmed  by  what  elsewhere  Paul  says  of  the  supreme  personal 
exaltation  of  Christ  in  the  work  of  redemption.  He  is  the  one 
only  representative  of  God's  people  in  the  covenant  of  grace ; 
the  sole  mediator  and  intercessor  between  God  and  man  ;  the 
single  adorable  Being  in  whom  all  God's  children  are  compre- 
hended and  recapitulated ;  and  the  one  supreme  Head  of  the 
Church.  The  sum  of  the  matter  is  briefly  this :  We  are  not 
saved  by  saviours  "  as  of  many,"  but  by  a  Saviour  "  as  of  one," 
—  only  one.  And  thus  we  reach  the  ground  of  Paul's  distinc- 
tion between  "  seeds  "  and  "  seed,"  as  applied  to  Christ.^ 

4.  All  who  believe  in  Clirist,  whether  they  be  Jews  or 
Gentiles,  are  the  seed  of  Abraham.  He  is  called  "the  father 
of  the  faithful."  The  term  "  father  "  is  applied  to  the  founder 
either  of  a  class  of  men,  or  of  a  literature,  or  of  a  nation. 
Jabal  was  the  father  of  such  as  dwell  in  tents,  and  Jubal  was 
the  father  of  such  as  handle  the  harp  and  organ  (Gen.  iv.  20, 
21).  Herodotus  is  styled  the  father  of  history,  and  Washington 
the  father  of  his  country.  Abraham  is  "the  father  of  the 
faithful,"  because  he  was,  by  Divine  appointment,  the  founder 
of  the  visible  Church ;  because  he  entered,  as  a  party,  with  God 
into  a  new  manifestation  of  the  covenant  of  grace,  which 
became  the  organic  law  of  the  visible  Church,  and  which  em- 
braced all  who  receive  Christ.  Moreover,  believers  resemble 
him  as  children  the  parent,  in  faith  and  holy  obedience.  They 
are  his  lineal  heirs  also,  and  they  inherit  all  the  spiritual 
blessings  promised  to  him.     The  Apostle  Paul  shows  clearly 

1  Heugsteuberg:  Christology,  vol.  i.  p.  44;  and  Fairbairn:  Typology,  vol.  i. 
p.  414. 


THE  COVENANT  OFFSPRING.  247 

that  every  child  of  God  is  one  of  Abraham's  seed.  "  They 
which  are  of  faith,  the  same  are  the  chiklren  of  Abraham " 
(GaL  iii.  7).  "  If  ye  be  Christ's,  then  are  ye  Abraham's  seed, 
and  heirs  according  to  the  promise  "  (GaL  iii.  29).  Abraham 
is  "  the  father  of  them  that  believe,  though  they  be  not  circum- 
cised," and  the  father  of  them  that  are  circumcised  "who  walk 
in  the  steps  of  his  faith"  (Rom.  iv.  11,  12).  "Gentiles  are 
fellow  heirs  "  (with  the  Jews),  and  of  the  same  body,  and  par- 
takers of  his  (the  Holy  Spirit's)  promise  by  the  gospel  (Eph. 
iii.  6).  In  Gen.  xvii.  5,  Abraham  is  called  "the  father  of  many 
nations."  In  Rom.  iv.  16,  18,  Paul  declares  that  the  constitu- 
ents of  "  many  nations  "  are  the  spiritual  as  well  as  the  natund 
seed  of  Abraham,  and  that  the  spiritual  seed  is  made  up  of  all 
who  shall  believe  in  Christ,  Gentiles  as  well  as  Jews.  Not 
only  so,  but  the  incomputable  number  of  the  redeemed  is 
expressed  by  the  words  "many  nations."  The  same  thought 
is  conveyed  elsewhere.  The  patriarch's  name  was  changed 
from  Abram,  or  "liigh  father,"  to  Abraham,  or  "the  father  of 
a  multitude  of  nations"^  (Gen.  xvii.  4).  Again,  Abraham 
became,  by  virtue  of  a  Divine  promise,  "  the  heir  of  the  world  " 
(Rom.  iv.  13).  Moreover,  as  has  been  pointed  out,  God  gave 
him  at  three  different  times  the  assurance  that  he  would  make 
Abraham's  seed  as  the  "  dust  of  the  earth  "  in  number,  as  "  the 
stars  of  heaven,"  and  "the  sand  upon  the  seashore."  There 
is  doubtless  a  good  and  sound  sense  in  which  it  may  be  said 
that  these  terms  apply  to  the  natural  descendants  of  Abraham, 
including,  with  the  Hebrews,  the  vast  Bedouin  tribes  descend- 
ing from  Ishmael,  from  the  sons  of  Keturah,  and  from  Esau. 
And  yet  we  are  required  to  take  these  numerical  estimates  in 
the  broader,  the  illimitable  sense,  which  shall  answer  to  the 
vision  of  John,  who  beheld,  "  and  lo !  a  great  multitude,  which 
no  man  could  number,  of  all  nations  and  tongues,  stood  before 
the  throne,  and  before  the  Lamb,  clothed  with  white  robes,  and 
palms  in  their  hands"  (Rev.  vii.  9).  The  fourfold  classification 
of  Abraham's  seed,  above  suggested,  may  help  us  to  follow  the 
Divine  distribution  of  the  promises. 

1  Revised  Version. 


248  SACRED  HISTORY. 

Here  the  first  place  is  due  to  tlie  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  because, 
as  we  have  seen,  he  was,  in  the  supreme  meaning  of  the  term, 
the  seed  of  Abraham.  All  the  larger  promises  to  Abraham 
apply  in  the  fullest  sense  to  Christ  (Gen.  xii.  2,  3).  Thus, 
"  I  will  make  of  thee  a  great  nation."  The  jieople  which 
Christ  is  gathering  is  great  in  numbers,  great  in  the  knowledge 
of  God,  great  in  holiness,  and  in  the  hope  of  glory.  "  I  will 
bless  thee,  and  make  thy  name  great."  A  promise  which  has 
been  made  good  in  the  events  which  have  already  exalted  the 
name  of  Jesus  above  every  name  on  earth,  and  have  set  all 
things  in  their  proper  course  towards  the  time  when  every 
knee  shall  bow  to  him  on  earth  as  now  in  heaven.  "I  will 
make  thee  a  blessing."  What  greater  blessing  can  come  to  us 
than  "  the  Lamb  that  taketh  away  the  sin  of  the  world "  ?  "I 
will  bless  them  that  bless  thee,  and  curse  him  that  curseth 
thee,"  —  a  clause  to  the  truth  of  which  we  are  witnesses ;  for 
we  see  Christ's  friends  coming  to  honor  and  his  enemies  coming 
to  shame.  "And  in  thee  shall  all  families  of  the  earth  be 
blessed."  To  this  consummate  promise  Christ  responded  in  his 
commission  to  the  apostles :  "  Go  ye  into  all  the  world,  and 
preach  the  gospel  to  every  creature." 

Secondly,  peculiar  benefits  are  promised  to  the  spiritual  seed 
of  Abraham.  Justification  by  faith  is  one.  "  The  scripture, 
foreseeing  that  God  would  justify  the  heathen  through  faith^ 
preached  before  the  gosjDel  unto  Abraham,  saying.  In  thee  shall 
all  nations  be  blessed"  (Gal.  iii.  8).  Conversion  to  God  is 
another.  "Unto  you  first  God,  having  raised  up  his  Son  Jesus, 
sent  him  to  bless  you,  in  turniyig  away  every  one  of  you  from  his 
iniquities''''  (Acts  iii.  26).  Adoption  is  included  in  the  promise. 
""If  ye  be  Christ's,  then  are  ye  Abraham's  seed,  and  heirs 
according  to  the  promise  "  (Gal.  iii.  29).  "  Now  we,  brethren, 
as  Isaac  was,  are  heirs  according  to  the  promise  "  (Gal.  iv.  28 ; 
comp.  Gal.  iv.  5).  So  also  with  the  gift  of  the  Sj^irit:  "Christ 
hath  redeemed  us  from  the  curse  of  the  law  .  .  .  that  the 
blessing  of  Abraham  might  come  on  the  Gentiles  through  Jesus 
Christ;  that  we  might  receive  the  promise  of  the  Spirit  through 
faith"   (Gal.  iii.  13,  14).     The   heavenly   rest   belongs   here.' 


DISTRIBUTION  OF  THE   GIFTS.  249 

The  redeemed  are  represented  as  sitting  "  down  with  Abraham 
and  Isaac  and  Jacob  in  the  kingdom  of  heaven  "  (Matt.  viii.  11).^ 
To  wliich  it  should  be  added,  that  believers  in  Christ,  being 
the  seed  of  Abraham,  are  heirs  of  all  the  riches  of  grace 
enumerated  in  the  call.  The  Church  of  the  redeemed  on  earth 
is  a  great  and  growing  nation ;  God  blesses  it,  and  makes  it  a 
blessing  to  mankind.  He  blesses  him  that  blesses  them,  and 
curses  all  who  curse  them.  And,  in  a  manner  inferior  only  to 
the  Divine  Son  of  Abraham,  it  may  be  said  of  the  Church, 
which  is  his  body,  that  in  it  "  all  families  of  the  earth  shall  be 
blessed."  Believing  Jews  and  believing  Gentiles  have  a  joint 
and  equal  interest  in  these  and  in  all  other  means  of  saving 
grace.  No  account  has  yet  been  taken  of  the  particular  inher- 
itance which  God  bestowed  on  Abraham  and  his  legitimate 
offsprings  to  the  exclusion  of  all  other  peoples. 

This  inheritance,  thirdly,  was  the  land  of  Canaan.  On  Abra- 
ham and  his  seed,  and  on  them  only,  was  the  promised  land 
bestowed.  It  should  be  borne  in  mind  that  some  of  the  tem- 
poral blessings  of  the  covenanted  inheritance  were  given  to 
Abraham,  and  not  to  his  posterity.  One  of  these  was  the  birth 
of  Isaac,  and  the  restoration  of  the  lad  to  his  father  at  the  altar 
on  Mount  Moriah ;  personal  benefits  these,  conferred  exclu- 
sively on  Abraham.  For  another,  the  patriarch  was  consti- 
tuted the  "  father  of  the  faithful,"  a  distinction  which  is  nowhere 
conferred  on  either  Isaac  or  Jacob,  or  any  prophet  or  apostle. 
Other  assurances,  however,  were  given  to  Abraham,  Isaac,  and 
Jacob  jointly.  Of  these,  the  most  important  was  the  declara- 
tion that  God  would  give  them  an  innumerable  seed,  and  would 
make  of  them  a  great  nation.  This  benefit  was  limited  to  the 
three  older  patriarchs ;  it  was  not  extended  to  either  Moses,  or 
Joshua,  or  David,  or  John  Baptist,  or  to  any  other  person. 
Still  further,  thousands  of  the  Israelites  also,  not  having  re- 
ceived the  promise  of  a  posterity,  went  childless  all  their 
days.  Another  and  more  remarkable  limitation  was  imposed  on 
the  gift  of  Canaan  to  the  seed  of  Abraham.  Very  few  of  the 
Hebrews  who  served  the  Egyptians  four  hundred  years  ever 
1  Turretiu  lust.,  vol.  i.  p.  197. 


250  SACRED  HISTORY. 

saw  the  land  of  Canaan,  and  none  of  them  dwelt  in  it,  even  as 
pilgrims  and  strangers.  In  the  fulness  of  time,  however,  the 
chosen  people  entered  the  goodly  land,  and  took  a  possession 
which  continued  for  nearly  fifteen  hundred  years.  And  yet 
Canaan  was  one  of  the  least  of  God's  blessings  upon  them. 
Jehovah  became  their  God.  He  entered  into  an  everlasting: 
covenant  with  Abraham,  with  this  provision,  that  he  would  be 
a  God  to  him,  and  to  his  seed  after  him.  This  assurance  is 
repeated  in  various  forms  nearly  a  hundred  times  in  the  Scrip- 
tures. It  was  renewed  in  some  of  the  critical  periods  of  the 
history.  When  the  chosen  people  were  in  Egypt,  he  said  to 
them,  "  I  will  take  you  to  me  for  a  people,  and  I  will  be  to  you 
a  God,  and  you  shall  know  that  I  am  the  Lord  your  God  which 
bringeth  you  out  from  under  the  burdens  of  the  Egyptians  " 
(Exod.  vi.  7).  He  said  to  Pharaoh,  "  Let  my  people  go  that 
they  may  serve  me."  He  began  the  Ten  Commandments  by  say- 
ing, "  I  am  the  Lord  thy  God,"  and  he  repeated  the  phrase  three 
times  in  the  body  of  the  Ten  Words.  It  ought  not  to  be  said 
that  God  was  the  God  of  the  Hebrews  who  were  regenerate, 
and  of  such  only.  He  was  the  God  of  all  Israel,  the  aggregate 
nation,  the  good  and  the  bad  taken  as  one  great  community. 
Whether  obedient  and  devout,  or  wayward  and  rebellious,  they 
were  always  visibly  his  people.  Whether  God  was  at  peace  or 
angry  with  them,  he  was  always  their  God.  His  presence  went 
with  them  in  the  wilderness,  and  into  the  land  of  promise.  He 
guided  and  watched  over  them,  and  punished  them.  He  dwelt 
with  them,  he  established  among  them  his  kingdom  and  wor- 
ship, and  exalted  them  above  all  the  nations.  The  blessings 
promised  to  Abraham  came  upon  them  as  a  people. 

The  history  of  the  Israelites  reveals  the  fulness  in  which 
God  granted  to  them  the  means  of  grace  and  salvation.  He 
established  among  them  the  only  pure  worship  known  on  earth  ; 
to  them  he  gave  his  spoken  and  written  word,  and  gathered 
multitudes  out  of  their  habitations  into  the  heavenly  rest. 
The  deliverance  from  Egypt,  the  conquest  of  Canaan,  the  wars 
of  David,  show  how  he  cursed  their  enemies,  and  blessed  their 
friends.     And  in  them  all  nations  were  blessed,  through  the 


VNCOVENANTEB  MERCIES.  251 

plan  of  salvation  that  was  matured  among  them,  and  the  Mes- 
siah who  became  flesh  in  one  of  their  families,  and  the  apostles, 
all  of  them  Jews,  who  went  everywhere  spreading  the  gospel. 

The  fourth  class  of  Abraham's  seed  is  made  up  of  Ishmael 
and  the  sons  of  Keturah.  At  the  expulsion  of  Ishmael  from 
Canaan,  Abraham's  love  for  the  lad  expressed  itself  in  the 
prayer,  "  Oh  that  Ishmael  may  live  before  thee  I "  In  his  answer 
God  said,  "  I  have  blessed  him  and  will  make  him  fruitful,  and 
will  multiply  him  exceedingly ;  twelve  princes  shall  he  beget, 
and  I  will  make  him  a  great  nation."  "  But  ray  covenant  will 
I  establish  with  Isaac."  The  promise  to  spare  Ishmael's  life 
was  kept,  by  a  special  interposition,  when  he  was  about  to 
perish  with  thirst  in  the  desert.  God  heard  the  pitiful  cry  of 
the  child.  He  called  to  Hagar  out  of  heaven,  telling  her  to 
take  her  child  into  her  arms ;  and  he  opened  her  eyes,  and  she 
saw  a  well  of  water.  His  mother  made  his  separation  from  his 
father's  family,  and  his  expatriation  complete  from  the  land  of 
promise,  by  taking  him  a  wife  out  of  her  native  Egypt  (Gen. 
xxi.  21).  And,  finally,  the  Divine  assurance  that  he  should 
come  to  great  renown,  was  made  good  abundantly.  Twelve  sons 
were  born  to  him,  corresponding  to  the  twelve  sons  of  Jacob. 
They  became  "princes"  or  sheiks,  and -built  cities  and  castles. 
The  venerable  patriarch  himself  died  at  the  age  of  one  hundred 
and  thirty-seven  years,  having  experienced  all  the  temporal 
blessings  that  were  promised  to  him  in  his  boyhood.  The  sons 
of  Keturah,  Abraham's  concubine  (Gen.  xxv.  1-6),  were  also 
sent  away  with  presents  by  Abraham,  and,  as  is  supposed,  spread 
themselves  over  the  deserts  to  the  westward  of  Persia.  Their 
descendants  are  confounded  by  the  Arab  writers  with  the  Ish- 
maelites,  with  whom  they  were  probably  amalgamated. 

Two  circumstances  are  worthy  of  attention  just  here.  In  the 
first  place,  Ishmael  and  Keturah's  children  were  the  sons  of  Abra- 
ham, and  distinctly  recognized  as  such  by  Jehovah.  Yet  they 
were,  both  by  Divine  purpose  and  by  the  course  of  Providence, 
absolutely  shut  out  from  the  chosen  land,  and  from  the  peculiar 
benefits  granted  to  the  chosen  seed.  Ishmael  was  his  seed 
according  to  the  flesh,  and  Isaac  was  his  seed  according  to  the 


252  SACRED  HISTORY. 

promise.  This  circumstance  furnished  an  illustration  of  the 
separation  of  the  true  from  the  spurious  seed  of  Abraham.  It 
showed,  also,  that  one  might  be  a  descendant  of  Abraliam,  and 
still  be  cast  away.  Still  further,  it  supplied  Paul  with  an  alle- 
gory, contrasting  Ishmael,  the  son  of  the  bondwoman,  the  type 
of  servitude  under  the  law,  with  Isaac,  the  son  of  the  free 
woman,  the  type  of  perfect  freedom ;  the  freedom  of  Jerusalem 
which  is  above,  and  the  mother  of  us  all  (Gal.  iv.  22-26). 
Next,  Ishmael  and  the  sons  of  Keturah,  although  they  had  no 
place  with  Isaac  in  Canaan,  retained  a  sure  inheritance  in  the 
jDlenary  promise  to  Abraham  :  "In  thy  seed  shall  all  the  nations 
of  the  earth  be  blessed."  That  seed  was  Christ,  the  Saviour  of 
the  world.  A  thousand  3'ears  are  with  the  Lord  as  one  day. 
The  Scriptures  are  now  in  the  native  tongue  of  the  posterity 
of  these  people.  From  the  sacred  pages  the  Bedouin  will  learn 
that  Abraham  is  the  spiritual  father  of  all  who  believe,  and  that 
the  promise  of  a  Saviour  is  made  to  the  Arabs.  And  to  make 
it  all  sure,  they  find,  in  the  record  that  contains  the  promise, 
the  names  of  the  twelve*  patriarchs,  sons  of  Ishmael,  and  the 
region  in  which  they  made  their  home  —  from  Havilah  to  Shur 
(Gen.  XXV.  13-18;  1  Chron.  i.  29-31).  The  names  of  the  sons 
of  Keturah  are  also  preserved  in  the  same  chapters,  showing 
that  none  of  them  are  forgotten  in  the  Divine  plan  of  salvation. 
The  living  descendants  of  these  two  exiled  branches  of  the 
Abrahamic  stock  may  well  believe  that  they  are  his  descend- 
ants, although  so  long  separated  from  their  ancestral  home. 
They  may  become  his  spiritual  children ;  and  if  children  then 
heirs,  joint  heirs  to  the  inheritance  of  the  just,  even  that 
better  country,  a  heavenly,  where  they  may  sit  down  with 
Abraham  and  Isaac  and  Jacob. 

The  promises,  as  unfolded  above,  indicate  and  enforce  the 
duties  and  obligations  imposed  on  all  the  human  parties  to 
these  transactions.  The  giving  of  the  covenant  in  the  first 
stage  was  preceded  by  the  word  of  the  Lord  to  Abraham,  say- 
ing, "  Fear  not,  Abraham :  I  am  thy  shield,  and  thy  exceed- 
ing great  reward."  To  this  word  of  good  cheer,  faith  was 
the  appropriate  response.     And  so  it  is  said,  "  He  believed  in 


DUTY  AND  PBIVILEGE   OF  GENTILES.  253 

Jehovah,  and  lie  counted  it  to  him  for  righteousness."  The 
second  stage  of  the  covenant  was  introduced  by  a  word  of 
command  :  "  I  am  the  Ahiiighty  God ;  walk  before  me  with 
a  perfect  heart.  And  Abraham  fell  on  his  face  "  (xvii.  1,  3). 
One  has  well  said,  "Just  as  righteousness,  received  in  faith, 
was  necessary  for  the  establishment  of  the  covenant,  so  a  blame- 
less walk  before  God  was  necessary  for  the  establishment  and 
confirmation  of  a  covenant."  After  Abraham  was  dead,  Jeho- 
vah renewed  to  Isaac  the  unqualified  assurances  which  he  had 
made  to  the  father ;  the  cycle  of  promises  closing  with  the 
greatest  of  all,  "  that  salvation  should  flow  from  him  unto  all 
nations."  By  way  of  a  reason  for  this  renewed  assurance, 
Jehovah  pronounced  this  wonderful  judgment  on  the  old  patri- 
arch: "Because  that  Abraham  obeyed  my  voice,  and  kept  my 
charge,  my  commandments,  my  statutes,  and  my  laivs "  (Gen. 
xxvi.  5).  The  same  duties  were  imposed  on  the  legitimate 
seed  of  Abraham,  and  on  all  his  spiritual  seed.  In  the  cove- 
nant, in  the  ritual  given  by  Moses,  in  the  prophets,  and  in  the 
Gospels,  the  Gentiles  are  taught  to  receive  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ 
by  faith  in  his  name  and  his  atoning  blood.  Even  Ishmael  and 
Keturah  and  their  descendants  were,  and  the  Arabs  of  their 
stock  to  this  day  are,  encouraged  to  believe  on  the  seed  of 
Abraham,  —  "  the  Lamb  of  God  who  taketh  away  the  sin  of  the 
world." 


254  SACRED  HISTORY. 


CHAPTER  XVIII. 

THE   SEAL   OF  THE  COVENANT. 

Biblical  scholars  have  carefully  considered  the  question 
whether  circumcision  was  original  with  Abraham,  or  whether 
it  was  introduced  into  his  family  from  other  peoples.  The 
weight  of  evidence  appears  to  be  with  those  who  maintain 
that  the  rite  had  been  practised  by  the  Egyptians,  and  by 
some  of  the  Syro-Arabians,  before  the  time  of  Abraham.  But 
this  fact,  even  if  well  established,  should  not  embarrass  our 
conclusions.  It  has  been  already  shown  that  the  rainbow,  a 
phenomenon  well  known  before  the  Flood,  was  clothed  with 
a  new  and  sacred  meaning,  and  appointed  to  be  the  sign  of 
the  covenant  with  Noah.  By  the  same  rule  circumcision,  even 
though  it  were  a  usage  of  the  heathen,  was  chosen  by  the 
Almighty  to  receive  the  impress  of  revealed  thought,  and  to 
become  authoritative  as  the  sign  and  seal  of  the  covenant  with 
Abraham. 

Its  relation  to  the  covenant  is  somewhat  peculiar.  In  Gen. 
xvii.  10,  ch'cumcision  is  called  God's  "  covenant ; "  and  in  ver. 
11,  it  is  said  to  be  the  "  token  of  the  covenant."  In  like 
manner,  in  Exod.  xxxi.  13-17,  the  sabbath  is  described,  first 
as  a  sign,  then  as  a  perpetual  covenant,  and  then,  again,  as  a 
sign  between  Jehovah  and  the  Israelites.  By  blending  these 
two  ideas,  we  gather  that  circumcision  was  a  stipulated  rite, 
and  a  sign  and  seal ;  not  a  ceremony  separable  from  the  cove- 
nant, but  an  integral  part  thereof.  Hengstenberg  remarks 
that  "  circumcision  was  the  embodied  covenant."  The  ordi- 
nance, being  a  sign  or  token,  must  represent  definite  realities. 
It  is  not  a  mere  flesji-mark,  like  a  wart  or  a  discoloration  of  the 


MEANING  OF  CIRCUMCISION.  255 

skin.  The  empty  sleeve,  the  cork-leg,  the  scar,  the  unhealed 
wound,  of  an  old  soldier,  are  signs  of  courage.  In  like  manner 
circumcision  is  the  sign  of  a  ruling  idea.  Nor  is  that  all ;  inas- 
much as  the  use  of  the  sign  was  commanded  to  Abraham  and 
to  his  posterity  in  all  generations,  we  may  not  doubt  that  the 
idea  signified  was  of  special  importance. 

Now,  the  matter  of  the  ordinance,  the  mark  in  the  flesh, 
points  first  of  all  to  the  natural  generation  in  sin  of  the  race ; 
secondly,  to  the  necessity  of  spiritual  renovation.  In  other 
words,  circumcision  has  a  double  meaning.  It  assumes  the 
existence  in  man  of  original  or  birth-sin,  and  is  symbolical  of 
inward  purification  by  the  Divine  Spirit.  What  it  assumes  is 
made  clear  by  many  places  in  the  Scriptures.  The  unrenewed 
are  called  "  the  uncircumcised  in  the  heart."  This  expression 
is,  in  turn,  applied  to  the  peoples  of  Egypt,  Amnion,  Moab, 
Edom,  and  the  apostate  Israelites  (Jer.  ix.  26  ;  Ezek.  xliv.  7). 
Proud  hearts  are  "  uncircumcised  hearts "  (Lev.  xxvi.  41). 
The  ear  that  will  not  hear  Jehovah  is  an  "  uncircumcised  ear  " 
(Jer.  vi.  10).  Stephen  said  to  his  murderers,  "Ye  stiff-necked 
and  uncircumcised  in  heart,  ye  do  always  resist  the  Holy 
Ghost"  (Acts  vii.  51).  Moral  obliquity  is  compared  by  Moses, 
and  scandalous  sin  is  compared  by  Jeremiah,  with  the  foreskin 
of  the  heart,  which  must  be  taken  away  (Deut.  x.  16  ;  Jer. 
iv.  4).  These  vivid  representations  coincide  with  the  words  of 
David,  "I  was  shapen  in  iniquity,  and  in  sin  did  my  mother 
conceive  me ; "  to  the  lamentation  of  Job,  "  Who  can  bring 
a  clean  thing  out  of  an  unclean  ?  "  and  to  the  saying  of  Jere- 
miah, "  The  heart  is  deceitful  above  all  things,  and  desperately 
wicked." 

Un circumcision  is,  therefore,  according  to  the  Scriptures,  a 
striking  symbol  of  moral  defilement.  It  is  not  less  plainly 
declared  that  circumcision  is  the  symbol  of  spiritual  purifica- 
tion, and  the  new  birth  or  the  new  creation :  "  And  the  Lord 
thy  God  will  circumcise  thine  heart,  and  the  heart  of  thy  seed, 
to  love  the  Lord  thy  God  with  all  thine  heart,  and  with  all 
thy  soul,  that  thou  mayest  live"  (Deut.  xxx.  6).  Here  the 
work  of  spiritual  renovation  is  sufficiently  described.     God  is 


256  SAC  BED   HISTORY. 

the  author,  the  human  heart  is  the  subject,  the  fruit  is  supreme 
love  to  God,  and  the  reward  is  life.  Again,  the  promise  here 
is,  "The  Lord  thy  God  will  circumcise  thine  heart;"  in  Jer. 
iv.  4,  the  command  is,  "  Circumcise  yourselves  unto  the  Lord, 
and  take  away  the  foreskin  of  your  heart."  The  expostulation 
and  the  promise  meet  together  in  Ezek.  xviii.  31,  and  xxxvi. 
26.  "  Make  you  a  new  heart  and  a  new  spirit,  for  why  will  ye 
die  ?  "  is  the  expostulation  ;  the  promise  is,  "  A  new  heart  will 
I  give  you,  and  a  new  spirit  will  I  put  within  you."  Paul  sets 
forth  not  less  clearly  the  spiritual  import  of  the  rite:  "He  is 
not  a  Jew  which  is  one  outwardly,  neither  is  that  circumcision 
which  is  outward  in  the  flesh ;  but  he  is  a  Jew  which  is  one 
inwardly,  and  circumcision  is  that  of  the  heart,  in  the  spirit, 
and  not  in  the  letter"  (Rom.  ii.  28,  29).  "We  are  the  circum- 
cision which  worship  God  in  the  spirit,  and  rejoice  in  Christ 
Jesus,  and  have  no  confidence  in  the  flesh  "  (Phil.  iii.  3 ;  com- 
pare Col.  ii.  11).  The  symbolical  meaning  of  circumcision 
may  be  still  further  elucidated  by  considering  the  reciprocal 
character  of  the  covenant  and  its  sign. 

A  covenant  presupposes  reciprocity,  in  the  case  before  us 
there  is  a  double  element :  on  the  part  of  God,  a  duty  enjoined 
and  a  promise  made ;  on  the  part  of  Abraham,  a  duty  under- 
taken and  an  obligation  assumed.  The  duty  which  God  en- 
joined on  Abraham  was  declared  first  in  the  preface  to  the 
covenant:  "The Lord  said  unto  him.  Walk  before  me,  and  be 
perfect ; "  next,  in  the  command  to  introduce  circumcision  into 
his  family.  The  words  spoken  required  perfect  obedience  ;  the 
rite  established  represented  inward  purity.  The  promises  con- 
tained in  the  covenant  are  these :  Abraham  should  be  the 
progenitor  of  nations  and  kings  ;  God  would  establish  an  ever- 
lasting covenant  with  him  and  his  seed  in  their  successive 
generations ;  he  would  give  to  them  the  land  of  Canaan  for  an 
everlasting  possession,  and  be  their  God  (Gen.  xvii.).  These 
promises,  explained  by  the  sign,  conveyed  the  assurance  that 
God  would  bestow  upon  the  chosen  people  the  means  of  grace 
and  the  Divine  efficiency  needful  to  secure  to  them  the  funda- 
mental benefits  of  the  kingdom  of  God,  —  regeneration  and  life 


PROPERTIES   OF  A   SACRAMENT.  257 

eternal.  The  duty  undertaken  and  performed  by  Abraham  was 
a  cordial  acceptance  of  the  promises,  and  the  prompt  adminis- 
tration of  circumcision  to  himself  and  to  his  son  and  to  the 
servants.  This  act  was  the  token  of  his  purpose  to  obey  God, 
and  to  root  out  all  sinful  desires  from .  his  heart.  The  reci- 
procity was  complete.  The  command  of  God  in  Deut.  x.  16, 
"  Circumcise  the  foreskin  of  thine  heart,"  was  followed  by  the 
promise  in  Deut.  xxx.  6 :  "  The  Lord  thy  God  will  circumcise 
thine  heart,  and  the  heart  of  thy  seed,  to  love  the  Lord  thy 
God  with  all  thine  heart  and  with  all  thy  soul,  that  thou  mayest 
live."  The  gracious  sequence  of  "Purify  thyself "  is  "I  will 
purify  thee  ; "  even  as,  in  the  New  Testament,  the  sequence  of 
"Work  out  your  salvation  "  is  "  God  worketh  in  you  to  will 
and  to  do  according  to  his  good  pleasure."  ^  Another  step  in 
this  inquiry  brings  us  face  to  face  with  the  sacramental  charac- 
ter of  the  ordinance. 

The  Scriptures  contain  neither  the  term  "sacrament"  nor  its 
equivalent,  nor  do  they  define  the  act  of  worship  itself.  In 
order  to  frame  a  definition,  we  begin  with  the  proposition, 
which  is  universally  accepted,  that  baptism  and  the  Lord's 
Supper  are  true  sacraments.  By  comparison  and  analj'sis,  we 
ascertain  the  properties  which  belong  to  these  two  sacraments, 
and  which  distinguish  them  from  all  other  ordinances  of  holy 
worship.  Out  of  these  elementary  ideas  a  definition  is  con- 
structed, and  the  sacramental  character  of  circumcision  may  be 
easily  tested  by  the  definition  so  obtained. 

Baptism  and  the  Lord's  Supper,  which  are  universally  accepted 
as  sacraments,  are  :  (1)  Ordinances  of  Divine  appointment. 
(2)  They  are  of  perpetual  obligation.  (3)  In  both  of  them 
there  are  outward  visible  signs,  and  spiritual  graces  signified 
thereby.  (4)  They  are  signs  and  seals  of  an  existing  covenant, 
and  of  the  interest  of  the  believer  in  its  promises.  (5)  They 
are  badges  of  the  religious  profession.  (6)  Baptism  and  the 
Lord's  Supper  are  visible  signs  wherein  the  benefits  of  the  new 
covenant  are  represented,  sealed,  and  applied  to  the  believer. 
(7)  The  grace  which  is  exhibited  in  or  l)y  these  sacraments 

1  Hengstenberg :  Kiug.  of  God,  vol.  i.  pp.  222-225. 


258  SACRED  HISTOBY. 

rightly  used,  is  not  conferred  by  any  power  in  them.  (8)  Bap- 
tism is  the  rite  of  initiation  into  the  Christian  Church,  and 
opens  the  way  to  the  Lord's  Supper. 

Now,  circumcision  exhibits  all  the  characteristics  of  a  true 
sacrament.  (1)  It  was  instituted  by  Jehovah.  (2)  Abraham 
and  his  posterity  through  all  generations  were  ordered  to 
observe  the  rite.  (3)  A  mark  in  the  flesh  was  the  visible  sign 
and  seal ;  justification  by  faith,  together  with  all  the  graces  and 
benefits  flowing  therefrom,  was  the  thing  signified  (Rom.  iv.  11). 
(4)  Circumcision  was  expressly  appointed  to  be  the  sign  and 
seal  of  the  covenant  with  Abraham,  securing  to  him  and  his 
ofispring  the  right  to  all  its  promises  (Gen.  xvii.).  (5)  The 
flesh-mark  identified  him  who  carried  it  about  with  him  as  a 
son  of  Abraham,  and  as  holding  a  definite  religious  position. 
(6)  This  mark  was  a  sensible  sign  wherein  the  benefits  of  the 
covenant  with  Abraham  were  represented,  sealed,  and  applied 
to  those  who  followed  Jehovah  (Rom.  iv.  11,  12).  (7)  The 
rite  was  not  in  itself  a  saving  ordinance.  (8)  It  was  the  door 
by  which  aliens  came  into  the  Old-Testament  Church,  and 
through  which  admission  was  gained  to  the  passover. 

The  sacramental  character  of  the  ordinance  will  help  us  to 
point  out  its  main  design.  Some  writers  have  labored  to  show 
that  circumcision  was  necessary  to  cleanliness  and  health,  and 
that  it  was  introduced  among  the  chosen'  people  mainly  for  this 
purpose,  according  to  the  usages  of  the  Oriental  nations.  This 
theory  overlooks  three  indisputable  facts.  For  the  first,  the 
spiritual  import  and  sacramental  character  of  the  rite  is  con- 
stantly asserted  and  not  denied  in  the  Divine  Word.  Next, 
circumcision  is  never  treated  in  the  written  Word  as  a  sanitary 
measure,  but  always  as  an  act  of  obedience  to  God.  Again, 
the  ordinance  was  abrogated  by  the  gospel,  a  proceeding  which 
calls  for  explanation  if  circumcision  was  necessary  to  the  health 
of  the  people.  In  point  of  fact  it  was  repudiated  by  the  apos- 
tles for  another  reason  altogether,  because  of  its  repugnance  to 
the  progress  of  the  gospel.  So  far  as  can  be  learned  from  the 
acts  or  letters  of  the  apostles,  nobody  decried  its  abandonment 
as  perilous  to  the  health  of  the  people.     Others  have  thought 


NO   lyiTERENT  SAVING   EFFICACY.  259 

that  the  usage  was  designed  simply  to  put  a  race-mark  upon  the 
Jews,  not  unlike  the  shaven  crown  or  shaven  temple  or  the 
"  beard  rounded  at  the  corner  "  of  the  heathen,  or  the  cue  of 
the  Chinaman,  or  the  tattoo  of  the  Polynesian.  But  this  sug- 
gestion, like  the  foregoing,  overlooks  the  spiritual  import  of  the 
ordinance,  and  its  meaning  as  the  recognized  sign  of  the  Abra- 
hamic  covenant.  It  overlooks  also  the  fact  that  the  custom  of 
circumcision  existed  to  a  certain  extent  among  the  neighboring 
heathen,  and  could  not,  therefore,  serve  the  purpose  of  a  dis- 
tinctive race-mark  for  the  Jews.  The  sacred  record  lifts  us  out 
of  the  range  of  these  feeble  ideas,  and  teaches  us  that  circum- 
cision is  a  seal  of  a  solemn  covenant  between  Jehovah  and 
Abraham  for  himself  and  his  legitimate  progeny ;  an  indelible 
badge  of  membership  in  the  Hebrew  Church,  and  of  citizenship 
in  the  Hebrew  commonwealth ;  a  token  that  he  who  bore  it  was 
in  possession  of  a  birthright  in  all  the  prerogatives  and  privi- 
leges of  the  church  and  the  commonwealth ;  a  sign  of  redemp- 
tion from  sin  and  death  ;  a  sacramental  seal  of  the  righteousness 
that  is  by  faith  ;  a  symbol  of  inward  purification  ;  an  assurance 
that  the  covenant  secured  to  the  family  the  birth  of  a  Saviour 
in  its  own  household,  and  the  promise  of  a  salvation  in  which 
all  the  world  should  share.  These  definitions  raise  an  inquiry 
in  regard  to  the  spiritual  efficacy  of  the  ordinances. 

1.  Following  the  analogy  of  other  symbols  of  inward  purifi- 
cation, and  of  other  sacraments,  it  must  be  said,,  that  circumci- 
sion had  no  inherent  power  to  save,  no  efficacy  ex  opere  operato. 
Ishmael  was  circumcised,  and  peremptorily  cast  out.  Esau  was 
circumcised  on  the  eighth  day,  and  forty  years  afterwards 
became  a  profane  person,  sold  his  birthright,  and  was  rejected. 
Paul  was  never  more  positive  and  repetitious  than  when  he 
demonstrated  the  worthlessness  of  circumcision  in  the  absence 
of  inward  purity.  He  declared  that  the  rite  is  profitable  to 
him  who  keeps  the  law,  but  it  becomes  uncircumcision  to  him 
who  breaks  the  law ;  that  uncircumcision  in  one  who  keeps  the 
law  shall  be  counted  for  circumcision;  that  the  Gentile  by 
nature,  if  he  fulfil  the  law^  shall  condemn  the  Jew  who  trans- 
gresses the  law  though  he  be  m  possession  of  both  the  letter 


200  SACRED  HISTORY. 

of  the  law  and  the  mark  of  the  ordinance ;  that  he  is  not  a  Jew 
who  is  one  outwardly  in  the  flesh,  but  he  is  a  Jew  who  is  one 
inwardly ;  and  that  circumcision  is  that  of  the  heart  and  of  the 
spirit,  and  not  of  the  letter  (Rom.  ii.  25-29;  Gal.  pas.sm  ;  Col. 
ii.  11 ;  Phil.  iii.  3).  It  became  Paul's  duty  to  protest,  in  the 
strongest  terms,  against  the  dangerous  heresy  of  the  Jews  to 
the  effect  that  circumcision  was  clothed  with  an  inherent  and 
unfailing  power  to  save.  Some  of  their  highest  rabbinical 
authorities  maintained  these  positions:  "No  circumcised  man 
will  see  hell ; "  "  Circumcision  saves  from  hell ;  "  "  God  swore 
to  Abraham  that  no  one  who  was  circumcised  should  be  sent  to 
hell ; "  "■  Abraham  sits  before  the  gate  of  hell,  and  does  not 
allow  that  any  circumcised  Israelite  should  enter  there."  ^ 
Well  might  Paul  exclaim,  in  the  face  of  such  heresy,  "  Behold, 
I  say  unto  you,  if  ye  be  circumcised,  Christ  shall  profit  you 
nothing !  "  (Gal.  v.  2.) 

2.  Nor  was  this  ceremony  indispensable  (conditio  sine  qua 
71011)  to  salvation.  Justification  might  be  complete  in  its 
absence.  Abraham  was  declared  to  be  just  about  fifteen  years 
before  he  was  circumcised  (Gen.  xv.  6).  Indeed,  he  was  in 
possession  of  saving  faith  when  he  left  his  native  country  and 
went  to  Canaan  (Heb.  xi.  8),  twenty-four  years  before  the 
giving  of  the  covenant.  Paul  says,  "Abraham  received  the 
sign  of  circumcision,  a  seal  of  the  righteousness  of  the  faith 
which  he  had  being  yet  uncircumcised  "  (Rom.  iv.  8-13).  From 
this  statement  it  follows  that  the  rite  was  neither  the  ground 
nor  the  condition  of  justification. 

3.  This  ceremony  and  justification  were  not  tied  together ; 
they  were  not  necessarily  simultaneous.  Abraham  was  first 
justified,  and  long  afterward  circumcised.  Isaac  was  circum- 
cised on  the  eighth  day,  but  not  justified  until  he  believed. 
Many  of  the  Jews  of  Christ's  day  were  circumcised,  and  never 
received  the  gift  of  justification.  Christ  said  to  some 'of  them, 
"  Ye  are  of  your  father  the  Devil ; "  to  others,  "  At  the  judg- 
ment," I  will  say  unto  you,  "  I  never  knew  you ;  depart,  ye 
cursed."  The  Gentiles,  on  the  other  hand,  were  justified  by 
faith,  although  they  had  not  been  circumcised. 

1  Hodge  on  Rom.  ii.  25,  with  the  authorities  fully  cited  there. 


THE   CHANGE  BECOMES   VISIBLE.  261 

4.  In  regard  to  the  spiritual  character  of  this  sacrament,  it 
may  be  said  in  general  terms,  that  it  was  the  visible  sign  and 
seal  of  the  covenant  of  grace  between  God  and  Abraham, 
and  between  God  and  every  one  of  his  spiritual  children.  In 
a  special  sense,  it  was  the  seal  to  them  all,  "  of  the  righteous- 
ness of  faith."  The  seal  is  the  pledge  ;  the  righteousness  is  the 
state  of  acceptableness  with  God ;  faith  is  the  instrument  which 
lays  hold  of  the  promise.  The  sacrament  conveyed  to  Abraham 
and  to  all  his  believing  seed  the  assurance  that  God  accepted 
them  as  righteous  through  faith.  Not  only  did  it  confirm 
their  justification,  but  it  exhibited  and  made  sure  all  the 
benefits  which  flow  from  the  covenant  of  grace,  in  this  life  and 
in  tlie  life  to  come.  It  confirmed  the  promise  of  a  Saviour 
to  come  in  the  posterity  of  Abraham.  Circumcision  was  the 
symbol,  also,  of  inward  purification ;  and  since  purification 
points  to  a  purifier,  it  pre-intimated  the  coming  of  the  Holy 
Spirit,  by  which  this  saving  work  is  accomplished.  It  engaged 
its  subjects  to  a  life  of  obedience,  purity,  and  faith  ;  manifesting, 
moreover,  and  cherishing  their  communion  with  one  another. 

The  record  points  out  the  subjects  of  the  ordinance.  At  the 
beginning  it  was  administered  to  every  man-child  in  the  family 
of  Abraham ;  to  the  patriarch  himself,  to  Ishmael  his  son,  and 
to  all  the  servants,  whether  born  in  his  house  or  bought  Avith 
his  money.  It  was  further  ordered  to  be  imposed  on  every 
male  child  to  be  born  to  Abraham,  and  on  every  male  child  to 
be  born  to  his  servants  throughout  their  generations.  By  that 
ceremony,  the  Church  and  kingdom  of  God  on  earth  was  erected 
into  a  visible  community,  on  the  basis  of  the  covenant  as  its 
organic  law.  For  two  thousand  years,  beginning  with  the 
creation,  the  Church  had  existed  as  invisible ;  that  is  to  say,  it 
was  made  up  of  saints  scattered  abroad.  By  the  giving  of  the 
covenant,  the  people  of  God  were  gathered  into  a  visible  societ}-. 
It  is  to  be  borne  in  mind,  that  the  Church  was  not  only  estab- 
lished in  the  family,  but  the  family  itself,  as  such,  patriarch, 
children,  and  servants,  was  built  up  into  a  Church.  The  family 
was  one  of  the  primeval  ordinances  in  Eden ;  in  the  days  of 
Noah  the  family  became  a  state ;  and  in  the  days  of  Abraham 


262  SAC  BED   IlISTOIiY. 

it  became  the  visible  Church.  A  civil  and  ecclesiastical  era 
was  began,  which  changed  the  face  of  the  world.  And,  further, 
the  indiscriminate  application  of  the  rite  to  the  servants  of  the 
family,  including  those  "  bought  with  money  of  any  stranger  " 
(xvii.  27),  conveyed  an  intimation  that  the  blessings  secured 
in  the  covenant,  and  confirmed  by  the  seal,  should  flow,  in  the 
fulness  of  time,  beyond  the  immediate  family. 

Abraham  was  ninety-nine  years  old,  Ishmael  was  thirteen, 
and  the  servants  were  of  all  ages,  when  they  were  circumcised. 
But  it  was  ordained  that  thereafter  every  male  child,  whether 
descending  from  Abraham  or  from  his  servants,  should  receive 
the  rite  on  the  eighth  day.  Infant  circumcision  was  the  invari- 
able rule.  The  reason  for  appointing  the  eighth  day  for  the 
ceremony  is  not  given.  It  is  conjectured  that  the  ordinance 
followed  the  sacred  rule  of  sevens ;  or  that  the  purpose  was  to 
anticipate  the  ordinance  of  purification  in  Lev.  xii. ;  or  that  the 
eighth  day  was  the  beginning  of  the  independent  life  of  the 
child,  according  to  analogies  in  Exod.  xxii.  30,  and  Lev.  xxii.  27. 
The  latter  explanation  seems  to  be  the  most  satisfactory. 

Circumcision  sealed  to  each  of  its  subjects  his  personal  inter- 
ests in  the  covenant.  To  Abraham  was  sealed  the  promise  that 
a  son  should  be  born  to  him,  that  he  should  be  the  father 
of  many  nations,  and  that  he  should  dwell  in  the  land  as  a  pil- 
grim and  stranger.  It  attested  to  him  also  the  mass  of  blessings 
which  were  common  to  him  and  his  seed  after  him,  especially 
the  promise  of  a  Saviour,  and  justification  by  faith  in  his  aton- 
ing blood.  To  Isaac  and  his  posterity  the  same  rite  confirmed 
the  promise  of  the  land  of  Canaan,  and  of  all  the  benefits  which 
were  connected  with  that  promise,  as  they  are  set  forth  in  the 
call  to  Abraham,  in  the  ten  theophanies,  and  in  the  covenant. 
Every  one  of  his  descendants  through  Jacob  was  called  to  walk 
in  the  steps  of  the  faith  of  Abraham.  He  was  reminded  by  the 
mark  in  his  flesh,  that  he  had  a  birthright  in  the  means  of  grace 
to  be  provided  for  him;  that  he  carried  about  with  him  an 
ineffaceable  seal  of  righteousness  by  faith;  and  that  he  was 
entitled  to  all  the  covenant  blessings,  temporal  and  spiritual, 
present  and  future.     The  Apostle  Paul  enumerates  these  bless- 


A   BLESSING   TO  EACH  RECIPIENT.  263 

ings  in  glowing  terms  (Rom.  ix.  4).  The  case  of  Ishmael  was 
peculiar.  He  was  circumcised,  and  then  cast  out.  He  did  not 
share  with  Isaac  in  the  promise  of  a  chosen  land  and  a  chosen 
seed.  But  God  was  pleased  to  grant  special  promises  to  him, 
and  to  give  them  a  place  in  the  sacred  record.  To  Abraham 
he  said,  "  As  for  Ishmael,  I  have  heard  thee ;  behold,  I  have 
blessed  him,  and  will  make  him  fruitful,  and  will  multiply  him 
exceedingly ;  twelve  princes  shall  he  beget,  and  I  will  make 
him  a  great  nation.  But  my  covenant  will  I  establish  with 
Isaac  "  (xvii.  20,  21).  And,  as  if  to  show  how  mindful  God 
was  of  these  promises,  he  caused  one  of  the  ten  "  books  of  the 
generations,"  incorporated  in  Genesis,  to  be  devoted  to  the 
names  of  Ishmael's  twelve  sons  and  to  their  dwelling-place 
(xxv.  12-18).  Ishmael  was  also  entitled  to  the  spiritual  bless- 
ings which  were  to  flow  to  all  the  families  of  the  world  from 
the  seed  of  Abraham ;  for  in  Christ  redemption  was  provided 
for  the  posterity  of  Ishmael  no  less  than  for  the  other  Gentiles. 
Now,  as  a  sign  and  seal  of  these  temporal  blessings  peculiar  to 
Ishmael,  and  these  spiritual  blessings  intended  for  his  posterity, 
or  a  part  of  the  race  for  whom  Christ  died,  circumcision  was 
administered  to  Ishmael.  The  sons  of  Keturah  received  in  the 
rite  a  sign  that  they  were  entitled  to  be  called  the  descendants 
of  the  far-famed  Abraham,  and  to  a  special  interest,  through 
their  remote  posterity,  in  the  spiritual  blessings  which  should 
proceed  from  Abraham  to  all  mankind.  To  the  servants,  the 
mark  signified  their  personal  interest  in  the  immediate  tem- 
poral prosperity  granted  to  Abraham's  family,  —  an  interest  to 
terminate,  perhaps,  when  they  should  be  separated  from  the 
household.  It  was  a  seal  also  of  the  spiritual  blessings 
reserved  for  their  posterity  when  Christ  should  appear.  In 
general,  it  may  be  said  that  circumcision  was  to  each  recipient 
a  sign  and  seal  of  whatever  blessings  were  conve3'ed  to  him  by 
the  terms  of  the  covenant.  From  what  is  set  forth  above, 
in  regard  to  the  symbolical  meaning,  sacramental  character, 
spiritual  efficacy,  and  subjects  of  circumcision,  it  would  be  easy 
to  deduce  its  obligation.  But  we  need  not  rest  our  convictions 
touching  that  point  on  any  logical  process,  however  valid. 


264  SAC  BED  HISTORY. 

Not  only  was  the  ordinance  given  in  the  form  of  a  peremp- 
tory command,  but  it  was  made  an  integral  part  of  the  covenant 
between  God  and  Abraham,  and  was  re-enforced  by  a  severe 
penal  sanction.  "•  The  uncircumcised  man-child  shall  be  cut 
off  from  his  people  ;  for  he  hath  broken  my  covenant."  Among 
the  authorities,  both  Jewish  and  Christian,  there  is  a  difference 
of  opinion  in  regard  to  the  nature  of  the  penalty.  Some  insist 
that  the  punishment  was  death.  This  opinion  is  supported  by 
the  law  of  the  sabbath,  in  Exod.  xxxi.  14,  where  the  phrase,  "that 
soul  shall  be  cut  off  from  his  people,"  is  used  interchangeably 
with  the  words,  "  shall  surely  be  put  to  death."  In  Lev.  xviii. 
29,  "cutting  off"  is  the  punishment  of  unnatural  crime.  As 
further  explained,  in  Ex.  xxii.  19,  "cutting  off."  means  death. 
Moses,  also,  was  threatened  with  death  for  neglecting  to  cir- 
cumcise his  son  Gershom,  he  having  apparently  conceded  this 
point  to  the  strong  will  of  Zipporah,  his  Midianitish  wife 
(Exod.  iv.  24).  Other  interpreters  hold  that  the  penalty  was 
exclusion  from  all  the  benefits  of  the  covenant,  including  ban- 
ishment from  the  promised  land.  In  behalf  of  this  explanation, 
attention  is  called  to  the  fact  that  the  Israelites  who  were  not 
circumcised  when  they  crossed  the  Jordan,  instead  of  being 
put  to  death,  were  required  to  receive  the  mark,  in  order  that 
their  covenant  right  to  the  promised  land  might  not  be  for- 
feited. We  may  perhaps  combine  both  explanations,  holding 
that  the  punishment  of  death  was  inflicted,  or  was  commuted 
into  excision  from  the  commonweiilth  of  Israel,  according  as 
the  offence  was  more  or  less  aggravated.  And  if  we  follow  the 
rabbins,  who  generally  understood  that  the  penalty  was  always 
inflicted  by  the  Almighty,,  we  may  be  sure  that  this  judgment 
actually  enforced  was  righteous. 

The  reason  for  the  penalty  is  assigned :  "  For  he  hath  broken 
my  covenant."  This  explanation,  taken  with  the  fact  that 
circumcision  is  called  "  the  covenant,"  shows  that  the  token 
was  inseparable  from  the  covenant.  The  spiritual  contents 
of  both  are  identical.  In  giving  the  covenant  God  said  to 
Abraham,  "  Walk  before  me,  and  be  thou  perfect."  For  a  sign 
of  the  covenant,  he  appointed  a  rite  which  was  symbolical  of 


THE  SUM   OF  THE  MATTER.  £65 

inward  purification,  and  was  also  a  seal  of  justification  by  faith. 

A  neglect  of  the  sign  was,  therefore,  a  breach  of  the  covenant, 

of  which  the  sign  was  an  integral  part.     Hengstenberg  extends 

this    doctrine :    "  Circumcision   was    the    embodied    covenant. 

Whoever  despised  the  former,  made  a  virtual  declaration  that 

he  would  have  no  part  in  the  promises  of  the  latter ;   would 

not  fulfil  its  conditions,  —  viz.,  that  he  had  no  desire  that  God 

should  purify  his  heart,  and  would  not  himself  strive  after 

purity."     For  this  reason  he  suggests  that  "the  neglect  of  it 

was  designated  as  so  great  a  crime,  and  whoever  was  guilty 

of  it  was  expelled,  ipso  facto.,  from  the  community  of  God,  as 

one  who  had  made  his  covenant  of  no  effect."  ^ 

The  two  ideas  brought  together  in  this  ordinance  are,  first, 

a  religious  observance  resting  on  the  peremptory  command  of 

God,  and  enforced  by  a  penalty ;  and,  secondly,  the  observance 

itself  having   no   inherent   power  to   save   the   soul.      Wilful 

neglect  of  the  ordinance  worked  death,  or,  at  least,  excision 

from   the  chosen  people ;   and  yet  he  to  whom    it   had   been 

applied  might  be  damned,  according  to  the  word  of  Christ  to 

the  circumcised  but  blasphemous  Jews.     The  grace  symbolized 

is  purity  of  heart;   and  yet,  where  that  grace  is  present,  the 

absence  of  the  sign  does  not  necessarily  defeat  the  grace,  and 

where  grace  is  wanting,  the  presence  of  the  sign  is  nothing 

worth. 

i  Hengstenberg,  King,  of  God,  vol.  i.  225,  226. 


266  SACRED  HISTORY. 


CHAPTER  XIX. 

EXCISION   AND   ADOPTION. 

Two  principles,  not  yet  expounded  in  these  pages,  were  laid 
in  the  Abrahamic  covenant,  and  reduced  to  practice  through 
the  generations.  One  of  these  may  be  described  as  excision, 
or  the  exclusion  of  the  offspring,  near  and  remote,  of  Abraham, 
from  the  rights  and  privileges  of  the  covenant-,  and  the  other 
may  be  called  adoption,  or  an  incorporation  into  the  chosen 
seed  of  peoples  who  were  not  the  natural  descendants  of  the 
patriarch.  The  terms  used  by  Paul  corresponding  to  excision 
and  adoption  are  "broken  off"  and  "graffed  in  "  (Rom.  xi.  17). 
The  rule  of  excision  is  set  forth  in  the  covenant  in  two  forms, 
penal  and  sovereign.  The  first  is  the  punishment  of  disobedi- 
ence ;  the  latter  is  the  exercise  of  God's  good  pleasure,  resting 
on  grounds  not  ordinarily  disclosed. 

Excision,  as  an  act  of  Divine  sovereignty,  separated  Ishmael 
and  the  six  sons  of  Keturah,  with  their  descendants,  from  the 
seed  of  promise,  and  sent  them  to  Arabia.  Isaac  was  in  his 
generation  the  sole  heir  of  the  promises.  Neither  Ishmael  nor 
Keturah,  nor  the  fifteen  hundred  servants  of  Abraham,  became 
progenitors  of  the  chosen  people.  They  were  circumcised,  and 
while  they  were  members  of  Abraham's  household  they  held 
a  relation,  somewhat  indefinite,  to  the  visible  Church ;  but  they 
had  no  inheritance  with  Isaac  in  the  land  of  Canaan.  After- 
wards, Esau  was  exscinded  with  his  posterity,  and  took  up  his 
abode  in  Mount  Seir.  If  it  be  suggested  that  Esau's  loss  of 
the  inheritance  was  due  to  his  profaneness  in  the  sale  of  his 
birthright,  the  reply  must  be,  that  this  transaction  was  simply 
the  occasion,  like  the  insolence  of   Ishmael  (Gen.  xxi.  9),  on 


EXAMPLES   OF  PENAL   EXCLSIOX.  267 

which  the  purpose  of  God  to  prefer  Jacob  was  disclosed.  The 
choice  itself  was  made  before  the  brothers  were  born :  "  neither 
having  done  good  or  evil,  that  the  purpose  of  God  according  to 
election  might  stand,  not  of  works,  but  of  him  tliat  calleth " 
(Rom.  ix.  10-13).  The  effect  of  these  sovereign  acts  of  excis- 
ion is  worthy  of  notice.  Seven  of  the  eight  sons  of  Abraham 
were  excluded  from  the  company  of  Abraham's  seed.  In  the 
next  generation  only  one  of  Isaac's  two  children,  Jacob,  was 
counted  in.  Of  the  third  generation  only  one  in  sixteen  of 
Abraham's  natural  descendants  had  any  share  in  the  promised 
land.  But  in  the  family  of  Jacob  his  twelve  sons  succeeded 
to  tlie  inheritance,  and  in  due  time  became  a  great  nation. 
Excision,  as  an  act  of  sovereignty,  was  arrested  after  Esau  went 
away  to  Mount  Seir. 

Penal  excision  moved  in  a  wider  sphere,  and  was  inflicted  on 
transgressors  throughout  the  whole  period  of  the  Old-Testament 
Church.  The  rule  was  announced  in  the  covenant:  ^'The  un- 
circumcised  man-child  shall  be  cut  off  from  his  people  "  (Gen. 
xvii.  14).  It  was  also  enforced  on  him  who  wilfully  violated 
the  law  of  the  Passover  (Exod.  xii.  19  ;  Num.  ix.  13).  Offences 
of  leze-majesti/^  about  twenty  in  number,  of  which  idolatry, 
murder,  and  eating  blood  are  examples,  were  punishable  w'ith 
excision  by  death  or  excommunication.  The  children  of  Israel, 
while  at  Kadesh-barnea  on  their  way  to  Canaan,  were  guilty 
of  inexcusable  unbelief  in  the  matter  of  the  spies.  The 
Almighty  declared  that  the  carcasses  of  all  who  had  come  out 
of  Egypt,  and  were  twenty  years  old  and  upward,  should  fall  in 
the  wilderness.  He  extended  the  period  of  their  wandering 
by  thirty-eight  years,  giving  ample  time  for  the  full  execution 
of  the  sentence  in  the  ordinary  course  of  nature.  During  all 
this  period,  up  to  the  arrival  of  the  Israelites  in  Canaan,  the 
sacraments  of  circumcision  and  the  Passover  were  withheld 
from  the  people  (Josh.  v.  2-8).  Calvin,  Hengstenberg,  and 
Keil  find  in  this  suspension  of  the  rite  an  indication  that  the 
covenant  was  annulled  as  to  these  people,  in  regard  to  the 
promised  land,  and  that  they  were  to  that  extent  "discove- 
nanted,"  and  prohibited,  therefore,  from  using  the  sacred  sign. 


268  SACRED  HISTORY. 

About  six  hundred  thousand  men  died  under  the  sentence,  and 
their  destruction  is  a  signal  example  of  penal  excision  (Exod. 
xii.  37  ;  Num.  xxxii.  11). 

About  thirty-eight  years  later,  the  Israelites  were  encamped 
on  the  plain  of  Moab,  almost  within  sight  of  the  land  of  Canaan. 
They  were  visited  by  the  heathen  Balaam  ;  and  Balaam  has 
been  called  the  Judas  Iscariot  of  the  Old  Testament,  an  inspired 
prophet  and  a  traitor.  He  had  found  it  impossible  to  curse 
Israel  by  word  of  mouth.  He  now  resorted  to  a  device  more 
fiendish  and  fatal  than  imprecation.  The  temple  of  the  obscene 
god  Baal-peor  was  within  easy  distance  of  the  camp.  At  the 
instigation  of  Balaam,  the  women  of  Moab  persuaded  a  great 
company  of  the  Hebrews  to  celebrate  with  them  the  festival 
of  their  god,  during  which  the  "  fair  idolatresses  "  were  accus- 
tomed to  prostitute  themselves  in  honor  of  their  deity.  The 
Hebrews  fell  into  the  snare ;  they  took  part  in  the  shameless 
rites,  and  the  whole  congregation  stood  polluted.  The 
Almighty,  in  his  indignation,  ordered  the  guilty  among  the 
chiefs  of  the  people  to  be  "hung  up  before  Jehovah  against 
the  sun  ; "  in  other  words,  they  were  to  be  put  to  death,  and 
their  dead  bodies  publicly  impaled  or  crucified.  A  pestilence 
broke  out  in  the  camp,  and  twenty-four  thousand  died ;  this 
appalling  mortality  showing  the  extent  of  the  apostasy.  While 
the  plague  was  raging,  and  the  people  were  weeping  before  the 
door  of  the  tabernacle,  Zimri,  a  chief  of  the  tribe  of  Simeon,  and 
Cozbi,  a  princess  of  Midian,  went  into  a  tent  in  the  sight  of  the 
congregation.  Phineas,  the  high  priest,  followed  them,  found 
them  lying  in  each  other's  arms,  and  with  a  single  thrust  of  his 
javelin  he  pierced  them  both  through  and  through.  Phineas 
being  the  high  priest,  and  as  such  the  representative  of  all 
Israel,  his  act  was  accepted  by  the  Almighty  as  an  act  of  jus- 
tice done  on  behalf  of  the  congregation  ;  and  the  plague  was 
stayed.  The  men  that  died  in  their  guilt  were,  for  the  most 
part,  born  after  the  formal  sentence  had  been  passed  at  Kadesh- 
barnea  nearl}^  forty  years  before.  Their  punishment  is,  there- 
fore, a  separate  example  of  penal  excision  (Num.  xxv.). 

About  six  hundred  years  later  the  disruption  of  the  king- 


EXCISION   OF  THE    TEN   TRIBES.  269 

dom,  at  the  accession  of  Rehoboam,  separated  ten  of  the  twelve 
tribes  from  the  theocracy,  from  the  throne  of  David,  from  the 
priesthood,  from  the  holy  city  and  the  temple,  and  from  the  ark 
of  the  covenant.  The  schismatical  tribes  founded  an  inde- 
pendent government  called  the  kingdom  of  Israel,  with  Samaria 
for  its  capital.  They  established  a  new  and  illegitimate  dynasty 
of  kings  ;  built  unhallowed  sanctuaries  at  Bethel  and  Dan  ;  set 
up  the  idolatrous  worship  of  calves ;  deposed  the  priests  and 
Levites,  and  organized  a  spurious  priesthood  out  of  the  lowest 
of  the  people.  The  sons  of  Aaron  and  Levi,  together  with  the 
faithful  among  the  people,  abandoned  the  schismatical  kingdom 
and  went  to  Jerusalem.  At  the  end  of  about  two  hundred  and 
fifty  years,  the  worship  of  Baal  had  displaced  in  the  kingdom 
of  Israel  the  worship  of  Jehovah.  The  seven  thousand  who 
refused  to  bow  the  knee  to  the  false  god  had,  for  the  most 
part,  passed  away.  A  few  members  only  of  the  school  of 
propliets,  founded  by  the  illustrious  Elijah  and  Elisha,  M'ere 
alive  ;  and  these  were  raised  up,  failing  to  reform  the  religion 
or  morals  of  the  people,  to  forewarn  them  of  their  approaching 
doom.  It  could  not  be  said  that  a  single  man  of  the  nineteen 
kings  wlio  had  reigned  in  succession,  had  done  that  which  was 
right  in  the  sight  of  the  Lord.  The  mass  of  the  population 
were  abandoned  to  the  most  degrading  vices,  —  murder,  13-ing, 
stealing,  drunkenness,  and  adultery.^  Assyria,  the  scourge  of 
Asia,  marched  its  armies  upon  the  kingdom,  besieged  Samaria 
three  years,  took  the  city  by  storm,  and  laid  bare  its  founda- 
tions. The  conquerors  seized  such  of  the  people  as  were  worth 
transportation,  and  carried  them  away,  captives,  into  the  re- 
motest regions  of  Assyria.  A  double  excision,  or  an  excision 
followed  by  an  extinction,  was  accomplished.  It  began  in  the 
revolt  of  the  ten  tribes  cutting  themselves  off  from  the  king- 
dom of  God,  and  it  terminated  in  a  captivity  from  which  the 
people  never  returned.  Tliey  were  gradually  absorbed  by  the 
heathen  nations  whom  they  served.  History  knows  nothing 
of  them  as  Israelites.     They  are  called  the  Lost  Tribes. 

Judah,  or  the  residuary  kingdom,  was  but  a  remnant  of  the 

1  Amos,  passim. 


270  SACBED  IIISTOEV. 

wealthy  and  warlike  kingdom  of  David  and  Solomon,  shrunken 
within  the  narrow  dimensions  of  Judah  and  Benjamin,  and 
hasting  to  its  overthrow.  Ahaz,  the  tenth  king  of  Judah,  im- 
ported an  altar,  with  its  idolatrous  rites,  from  Damascus,  in 
order  to  propitiate  the  Syrians.  He  defaced  the  house  of  the 
Lord,  profaned  the  sacred  vessels,  and  robbed  the  treasury. 
The  streets  of  Jerusalem  and  the  cities  of  Judah  smoked  with 
strange  incense,  and  were  polluted  by  licentious  rites.  The 
image  of  Molech  was  erected  at  Tophet,  in  the  Valley  of 
Hinnom  ;  and  Ahaz  made  one  or  more  of  his  children  pass 
through  its  fires.  Hezekiah,  his  pious  son,  introduced  a  thor- 
ouo'h  reform.  But  the  reformation  was  brouo-ht  to  naught 
under  the  reign  of  Manasseh,  Hezekiah's  d'egenerate  son.  He 
set  up  at  the  fore  court  of  the  temple  a  statue  of  Ashtaroth,  the 
Phoenician  Venus,  and  surrounded  it  with  a  bevy  of  unchaste 
priestesses,  bringing  thither  their  sacrifices  of  uncleanliness. 
He  introduced,  also,  a  reign  of  terror ;  slaughtering,  day  by 
day,  the  nobles  and  priests.  If  the  tradition  be  credible,  he 
ordered  the  venerable  Isaiah,  ninety  years  old,  to  be  sawn 
asuiider.  Neither  the  tardy  repentance  of  Manasseh,  nor  the 
second  reformation  introduced  by  Josiah,  Avas  able  to  check 
the  overflowing  corruption.  About  three  hundred  and  ninety 
years  after  the  kingdom  of  David  was  dismembered,  the  Baby- 
lonian armies  executed  the  judgment  of  God  on  Judah.  The 
city,  the  palaces,  and  the  temple  were  levelled  to  the  ground,  or 
committed  to  the  flames;  the  brazen  pillars  and  sacred  vessels 
were  sent  to  Babylon ;  the  chief  priests  were  put  to  death ;  and 
the  whole  nation,  with  the  exception  of  the  obscure  and  ig- 
noble, were  swept  into  captivity.  According  to  some  computa- 
tions, three  hundred  thousand  or  four  hundred  thousand  souls 
were  transported.^  The  sacred  records  do  not  specify  the  total 
number  of  exiles,  but  they  testify  to  the  complete  devastation 
and  depopulation  of  the  country  (2  Chron.  xxxvi.  7 ;  Jer.  xliv. 
22).  It  was  no  part  of  the  plan  of  Providence  to  destroy 
Judah,  root  and  branch,  as  he  had  destroyed  the  northern 
kingdom.    Judah  was  the  visible  Church  of  God;  the  Hebrews, 

1  Milman:  History  of  the  Jews,  vol.  i.  p.  409. 


JUDAII  PRESEBVED.  271 

although  degenerate,  were  the  people  of  God,  the  direct  heirs 
of  the  everlasting  covenant  made  with  Abraham,  and  to  them 
was  intrusted  the  blessing  which  was  one  day  to  visit  all 
nations.  God  dealt  with  them  after  the  manner  in  which  he 
had  dealt  with  the  disobedient  Church  in  the  wilderness :  he 
purified  it.  He  exscinded  the  disobedient  and  unbelieving,  and 
raised  up  a  better  generation  to  serve  him. 

At  the  close  of  the  wandering,  all  those  who  left  Egypt  being 
twenty  3-ears  old  and  upward  were  dead,  two  only  excepted  ; 
at  the  close  of  the  captivity,  nearly  all  of  the  same  age  who 
came  out  of  Jadah  were  dead.  At  the  end  of  the  seventy  years, 
moreover,  the  larger  number  of  the  Jews  who  were  born  in  the 
exile  refused  to  abandon  the  fertile  and  luxurious  Babylonia 
for  Canaan,  a  country  which  they  had  never  seen,  and  of  which 
they  were  told  that  it  was  a  rugged  mountain  covered  with 
ruins.  Although  a  vast  multitude  went  to  Babylon  with  King 
Jelioiachin,  onl}'  forty-five  thousand  three  hundred  and  sixty 
people  of  all  ages  returned  with  Zerubbabel  to  Jerusalem.  Still 
further,  of  the  twenty-four  courses  of  priests,  only  four  courses 
went  back  to  Canaan ;  a  circumstance  which  supports  the  con- 
jecture that  about  five-sixths  of  the  Jews  remained  in  Babylonia 
(Ezra  ii.  36-39).  The  remnant  returned  to  Canaan,  rebuilt 
the  walls  of  the  lioly  city,  restored  the  temple,  and  with  it  the 
ordinances  of  worship.     And  yet  the  excision  was  enormous. 

The  period  from  tlie  age  of  Malachi  to  the  incarnation  is  a 
blank  in  the  inspired  annals.  The  history  of  redemption  is 
resumed  in  the  gospel.  And  the  gospel  is  the  good  news,  the 
tidings  of  great  joy,  good  news  from  heaven  ;  good  news  to 
sinners,  of  relief  from  the  guilt  as  well  as  the  punishment  of 
sin ;  good  tidings  of  salvation  by  a  Divine  Saviour,^  Jesus  the 
Son  of  God;  tidings  of  the  resurrection  of  the  dead,  and  the 
re-union  of  soul  and  body  in  life  everlasting.  And  yet  a  pitiful 
undertone  comes  to  us  with  the  good  news,  setting  forth  the 
final  apostasy  and  rejection  of  Israel.  Paul  describes  the  pro- 
cess as  the  "diminishing,"  "the  fall,"  and  the  "casting  away" 
of  the  Jews.  John  the  Baptist  represents  them  by  the  figure  of 
the  fruitless  fig-tree,  and  by  the  chaff  on  the  threshing-floor. 


272  SACKED  HISTORY. 

He  read  their  approaching  doom  in  the  tree  cut  down  and 
burned,  and  in  the  chaff  cast  into  the  unquenchable  fire.  Our 
Saviour  refused  to  recognize  in  them  the  true  children  of  Abra- 
ham ;  they  were,  he  declared,  the  children  of  those  that  had 
killed  the  prophets.  They  called  God  their  Father,  but  they 
really  hated  the  Father  and  the  Son ;  and  they  hated  his  Son 
without  a  cause.  Accentuating  the  warning  of  John,  he  ex- 
claimed, "  Ye  hypocrites,  ye  generation  of  vipers,  how  can  ye 
escape  the  damnation  of  hell  ? "  The  final  excision  of  Israel 
from  the  kingdom  of  God  was  clearly  connected  with  the 
crucifixion  of  Christ.  This  connection  becomes  more  signifi- 
cant when  it  is  remembered  that  Christ  was  rejected  and  killed 
not  by  a  mob,  nor  by  a  conspiracy  made  up  of  individuals,  nor 
by  an  alliance  of  his  enemies,  —  the  Herodians,  Sadducees,  and 
Pharisees,  sects  and  parties  among  the  Jews.  His  death  was 
contrived  and  managed,  from  first  to  last,  by  the  lawfully  con- 
stituted rulers  acting  officially.  The  crucifixion  was,  strictly 
speaking,  a  national  transaction, — the  crime  of  all  Israel;  and 
this  is  its  most  prominent  feature,  its  distinctive  characteristic. 
The  proof  is  complete. 

A  few  months  before  the  third  passover,  Jesus  warned  his 
disciples  that  he  should  be  rejected  and  killed,  and  that  this 
rejection  and  killing  should  be  done  by  the  elders,  the  chief 
priests,  and  scribes,  —  a  precise  enumeration  of  the  three  classes 
composing  the  supreme  national  council,  or  the  Sanhedrim. 
On  his  last  journey  to  Jerusalem,  he  repeated  the  warning ; 
adding,  significantly,  that  the  chief  priests  and  scribes  should 
condemn  him  to  death,  and  deliver  him  to  the  Gentiles  to  be 
mocked  and  scourged  and  spit  upon  and  killed  (Matt.  xx.  18 ; 
Mark  x.  33,  34).  The  words  of  Jesus  were  fulfilled  to  the 
letter.  After  Lazarus  was  raised  from  the  dead,  a  meeting  of 
the  council  was  held,  in  which  it  was  resolved,  at  the  instigation 
of  Caiaphas  the  high  priest,  that  Jesus  should  be  put  to  death. 
They  ordered  that  any  man  knowing  where  the  condemned 
could  be  found  should  make  it  known,  that  they  might  take 
him  (John  xi.  57).  That  question  was  soon  settled,  for  Judas 
covenanted  with  the   chief  priests  to  deliver  Jesus   to  them. 


ISRAEL'S  NATIONAL   GUILT.  273 

The  victim  was  arrested  by  a  rabble  sent  from  "  the  chief 
priests  and  the  scribes  and  the  elders,"  and  brought  before 
Annas,  and  then  before  Caiaphas.  With  Caiaphas  were  as- 
sembled the  members  of  the  council,  and  after  an  examination 
of  the  accused  "  they  all  condemned  him  to  be  guilty  of  death." 
In  the  morning  the  whole  council,  after  holding  another  consul- 
tation, bound  Jesus,  and  sent  him  to  Pilate.  The  rulers  were 
there  to  watch  the  proceedings.  When  Pilate  proposed  to 
release  some  one  prisoner  to  the  people,  the  chief  priests  moved 
the  people  to  demand  Barabbas.  These  ecclesiastics  followed 
Jesus  to  the  cross;  and  there  "the  chief  priests,  mocking  him 
with  the  elders  and  the  scribes,  said.  He  saved  others,  himself 
he  cannot  save."  If  they  did  not  follow  him  to  his  grave,  they 
besought  Pilate  to  set  a  guard  there,  lest  the  disciples  should 
remove  his  remains  and  then  pretend  he  was  risen  from  the 
dead;  and  after  he  was  risen,  the  same  implacable  enemies  of 
God  bribed  the  guard  to  say  that  his  disciples  had  stolen  his 
dead  body.  In  regard  to  the  part  which  the  representatives  of 
the  people  took  in  the  tragedy,  the  evidence  is  complete.  In 
regard  to  the  part  taken  by  the  people,  it  is  sufficient  to  advert 
to  their  officiousness  at  the  arrest  of  Jesus ;  to  the  cry  of  the 
populace,  "  Crucify  him  !  "  in  the  presence  of  Pilate  ;  and  to  the 
taunts  which  they  flung  at  him  when  he  was  dying.  He  was 
taken,  and  with  the  wicked  hands  of  the  rulers  who  contrived 
the  crime  he  was  crucified  and  slain.  The  crime  was  chiefly 
official,  although  partly  popular ;  in  the  two  aspects  taken 
together,  it  was  a  national  transaction.  The  connection  between 
the  rejection  of  Christ  by  the  nation,  and  the  penal  excision  of 
the  Jews  by  the  Almighty,  is  clearly  set  forth  in  the  parable 
of  the  wicked  husbandmen,  propounded  by  Christ  on  one  of  the 
last  days  of  his  life.  The  Jews  had  been  chosen  of  God,  had 
been  segregated  from  the  Gentiles,  and  most  carefully  nurtured. 
But  they  had  slain  the  prophets,  and,  last  of  all,  had  killed  the 
Son  of  God.  For  this  cause,  said  Christ,  God  would  take  the 
kingdom  from  them,  and  transfer  its  privileges  to  another 
people,  a  new  community.  This  community  was  gathered  from 
among  the  Gentiles  not  onlv,  but  from  the  Jews  also.     At  the 


274  SACRED   niSTORY. 

ascension  of  Christ,  there  were  about  five  hundred  who  had 
escaped  through  faith  the  apostasy  and  excision  of  Israel.  In 
the  days  of  the  apostles,  a  few  of  the  Jews  were  converted. 

From  the  operation  of  excision  which  marked  the  history  of 
the  Jewish  commonwealth,  we  may  now  turn  to  the  operation 
of  its  antithesis,  —  adoption.  By  the  terms  of  the  Abrahamic 
covenant,  some  of  its  benefits  were  granted  to  others  besides 
the  descendants  of  the  patriarch.  Accordingly  Abraham  was 
ordered  to  circumcise  "  every  man-child  born  in  the  house,  or 
bought  v»dth  money  of  any  stranger  not  of  his  seed."  This 
usage  may  be  called  ••'  adoption,"  and  many  examples  of  its 
aj^plication  are  set  forth  in  the  record.  One  or  more  of  the 
sons  of  Jacob  married  heathen  women,  and  yet  their  children 
became  incorporated  into  the  promised  seed.  Joseph  married 
an  Egyptian  wife.  Her  two  sons,  JManasseh  and  Ephraim,  en- 
joyed all  the  prerogatives  of  the  twelve  patriarchs,  and  became 
the  ancestral  heads  of  separate  tribes  ;  and  the  tribe  of  Ephraim, 
though  he  was  the  son  of  an  Egyptian  woman,  became  one  of 
the  greatest  of  all. 

Additional  importance  is  given  to  this  law  of  adoption  by  its 
having  been  made  a  part  of  the  original  law  of  the  passover, 
and  given  on  the  very  night  of  the  exodus,  when  the  distinc- 
tion between  the  chosen  seed  and  the  heathen  was  sharply 
drawn  (Exod.  xii.  48).  The  ride  of  adoption  was  afterwards 
repeatedly  and  broadly  applied.  For  one  example,  the  children 
of  Israel,  when  they  left  Egypt,  were  followed  by  a  "mixed  mul- 
titude," composed  probably  of  slaves  and  disaffected  Egyptians 
(Exod.  xii.  38).  It  is  right  to  assume  that  they  became  gradu- 
ally fused  down  into  the  Hebrew  race.  Still  further,  during  the 
war  with  the  Midianites,  thirty-two  thousand  female  children 
were  captured,  and  distributed  among  the  Israelites  (Num. 
xxxi.  35).  Under  the  laws  of  Moses,  these  girls  were  probably 
reduced  to  servitude.  And  yet  it  can  hardly  be  doubted  that 
hundreds  of  them  were,  in  the  course  of  time,  emancipated, 
were  received  into  the  congregation,  were  married,  and  became 
mothers  in  Israel.  This  is  a  conjecture,  and  yet  some  proba- 
bility is  given  to  it  by  the  care  that  Muses  takes  to  infurni  us 


THE  LAW  OF  ADOPTION.  275 

that  none  of  these  young  females  were  either  married  or  fallen 
women.  This  incident  demands  attention,  because  it  furnishes 
an  instance  in  which  excision  and  adoption  went  hand  in  hand. 
Twenty-four  thousand  of  the  children  of  Israel  were  cut  off, 
and  thirty-two  thousand  of  the  daughters  of  Midian  were 
grafted  in  (Num.  xxv.  9,  xxxi.  35).  Further,  by  virtue  of 
the  law  of  Moses,  adoption  was  granted  to  the  children  of  the 
third  generation  of  the  Egyptians  and  Edomites  living  in  the 
land  of  Canaan,  —  the  very  people  against  whom  the  Israelites 
cherished  an  hereditary,  antipathy  (Deut.  xxiii.  8).  Not  a  few 
heathen  women,  moreover,  came  into  the  commonwealth  of 
Israel,  some  of  whom  became  the  ancestors  of  Christ.  The 
names  of  three  of  these  are  introduced  into  Matthew's  genealogy, 
—  Tamar,  Rahab,  and  Ruth.  They  are  made  conspicuous  by  the 
omission  from  the  table  of  all  the  Jewish-born  women  standing 
in  the  line  of  Christ,  Bathsheba  and  Mary  only  excepted.  More- 
over, Athaliah,  the  daughter  of  Jezebel,  became,  by  her  inter- 
marriage with  Jehoram,  king  of  Judah,  an  ancestor  of  Jesus. 
These  examples,  and  the  prominence  given  to  heathen  women 
in  the  sacred  genealogy,  may  be  used  to  show  that  the  blood 
of  the  older  Gentiles  flowed  in  the  veins  of  the  God-man 
who  came  to  save  Gentile  and  Jew.  Or  they  "may  be  con- 
nected with  our  Lord's  vicarious  subjection  to  reproach,  and  his 
official  share  in  the  dishonor  brought  upon  the  race  by  sin."  ^ 
Adoption  as  an  element  in  the  plan  of  Providence  is  clearly 
exhibited  in  these  historical  notices.  And  yet  they  are  com- 
paratively few,  and,  therefore,  less  significant  than  the  settled 
law  of  formal  proselytism,  which  was  in  force  from  the  exodus 
to  the  downfall  of  Judaism. 

In  the  ordinance  of  the  Passover,  provision  was  made  for  the 
admission  to  the  holy  feast  of  such  strangers  as  had  been  duly 
admitted  to  the  Abrahamic  Church.  Under  the  Mosaic  law, 
this  admission  was  effected  by  circumcising  the  males,  and  by 
shaving  the  head  and  paring  the  nails  of  the  females  (Exod. 
xii.  48 ;  Deut.  xxi.  12).  The  prominence  of  the  proselytes  in 
Israel  is  made  known  in  the  subsequent  history.     They  were 

1  J.  A.  Alexander;  Matt.  i.  6. 


276  SACRED  UI STORY. 

called  "strangers,"  and  are  mentioned  some  twenty  or  thirty 
times  in  four  books  of  the  Pentateuch.  In  the  period  of  the 
monarchy,  some  of  the  highest  offices  in  the  civil  and  military 
administrations  were  filled  by  proselytes.  The  chief  of  Saul's 
herdsmen  was  Doeg,  an  Edomite.  His  extraordinary  officious- 
ness,  and  his  passion  for  tale-bearing,  are  marked  by  the  tau- 
tology in  the  title  to  Ps.  lii.,  "  Doeg  the  Edomite  came  and 
told  Saul,  and  said  unto  him,"  and  by  the  stinging  epithets  in 
the  body  of  the  Psalm.  Among  the  officers  of  high  rank  in 
David's  army  were  Uriah  the  Hittite,  Ithmah  a  Moabite,  and 
Zelek  an  Ammonite,  both  of  the  last-named  being  descendants 
of  Lot's  incestuous  daughters.  It  is  fair  to  assume  that  these 
men  reached  their  rank  in  the  army  through  conformity  to 
Judaism.  Further,  proselytes  are  described  by  Isaiah  as  the 
"  sons  of  the  stranger  that  join  themselves  unto  the  Lord ; " 
Nehemiah,  on  the  return  from  Babylon,  commemorates  the 
piety  and  zeal  of  those  "that  had  separated  themselves  from 
the  people  of  the  [heathen]  lands  unto  the  law  of  God  "  (Neh. 
X.  28)  ;  in  the  days  of  Esther  "  many  of  the  people  of  the  land 
[Persia]  became  Jews"  (Esth.  viii.  17).  The  law  of  proselyt- 
ism  was  in  full  force  in  the  age  of  the  apostles.  On  the  Day  of 
Pentecost,  "  Jews  and  proselytes  "  heard  the  apostles  speak  with 
tongues  (Acts  ii.  10).  At  Antioch  in  Pisidia,  "many  of  the 
Jews  and  religious  proselytes  followed  Paul  and  Barnabas" 
(xiii.  43).  In  Thessalonica,  "  a  great  multitude  "  of  the  Greeks, 
being  men,  also  "not  a  few  honorable  women  which  were 
Greeks "  (i.e.,  heathen)  believed  (xvii.  4-12).  While  Paul 
was  preaching  in  Corinth,  "he  persuaded  the  Jews  and  the 
Greeks  "  (xviii.  4). 

This  array  of  Scripture  testimonies  authorizes  the  conclusion 
that  the  rule  of  adoption,  by  the  extension  of  which  the  apos- 
tles opened  the  door  of  the  kingdom  to  the  Gentiles,  was  not 
for  the  first  time  introduced  by  them,  but  was  recognized  as  one 
of  the  ruling  ideas  of  the  old  covenant.  The  number  of  the 
proselytes  in  the  age  of  the  apostles,  even  the  "great  multi- 
tude "  in  Thessalonica  and  other  places,  indicate  that  a  majority 
of  the  converts  were  not  Jews.     Isaiah  so  understood  the  plan 


EXCISION  AND  INGRAFTING.  277 

of  Divine  grace.  He  assures  the  Church  of  his  day  that  "  the 
Gentiles  shall  come  to  thy  light,  and  kings  to  the  brightness  of 
thy  rising,"  and  that  "the  forces  of  the  Gentiles  shall  come 
unto  thee  "  (Ix.  3-5).  Well  might  the  prophet  so  express  him- 
self; for  the  Psalmist  had  said  to  Jehovah,  "Thou  shalt  arise 
and  have  mercy  upon  Zion,"  and,  "  So  the  heathen  shall  fear  the 
name  of  the  Lord,  and  all  the  kings  of  the  earth  thy  glory  *' 
(Ps.  cii.  13,  15).  This  adoption  by  proselytism  received  its 
final  authority  from  the  Lord  Jesus :  "  Go  ye,  therefore,  and 
teach  all  nations,  baptizing  them  in  the  name  of  the  Father, 
and  of  the  Son,  and  of  the  Holy  Ghost." 

The  co-ordinate  operation  of  excision  and  adoption  is  de- 
scribed in  the  eleventh  chapter  of  the  Epistle  to  the  Romans. 
Paul  deals  with  the  subject,  first  didactically  in  a  series  of  prop- 
ositions, and  then  metaphorically  under  the  figure  of  the  olive- 
tree  ;  showing  in  both  methods  how  the  unbelieving  Jews  were 
excindetl,  how  the  believing  Gentiles  'were  adopted,  and  how 
the  apostate  Jews  should,  through  the  ministry  of  the  Gentiles, 
be  led  to  Christ  and  re-adopted.  Of  Israel  he  says,  "  Through 
their  fall  salvation  is  come  unto  the  Gentiles."  ..."  Now,  if 
the  fall  of  them  be  the  riches  of  the  world,  and  the  diminishing 
of  them  the  riches  of  the  Gentiles,  how  much  more  their  ful- 
ness ? "  .  .  .  "If  the  casting-away  of  them  be  the  reconciling  of 
the  world,  what  shall  the  receiving  of  them  be,  but  life  from  the 
dead?"  (Rom.  xi.  11-15.)  We  have  seen  that  the  apostasy  of 
Israel  as  a  nation  culminated  in  the  death  of  Christ  by  the  pro- 
curement of  the  national  authorities.  In  punishment  of  that 
crime,  God  had  rejected  them,  and  they  had  fallen,  they  had 
diminished,  they  had  been  cast  away,  they  lost  their  position  as 
the  chosen  seed,  they  were  discovenanted,  their  circumcision 
was  counted  for  nothing.  When  Paul  recorded  the  sentence 
which  had  been  passed*  upon  them,  the  commonwealth  was  on 
the  verge  of  dissolution,  the  city  and  temple  were  doomed  to  a 
speedy  overthrow,  the  daily  sacrifice  was  about  to  cease  forever, 
and  the  people  were  awaiting  dispersion.  Paul,  taking  them  as 
he  finds  them,  teaches  us  that  by  their  fall  salvation  was  to 
come  to  the  Gentiles ;  the  fall  ol  them  was  the  riches,  and  the 


278  SACEED  niSTOBY. 

casting  away  of  them  was  the  reconciling,  of  the  world.  The 
record  of  the  labors  of  the  apostles  coincides  with  these  decla- 
rations. In  the  first  place,  the  opposition  of  the  Jews  to  the 
gospel  constrained  the  apostles  to  give  their  attention  to  the 
Gentiles.  To  the  contradicting  and  blaspheming  Jews  at  Anti- 
och,  Paul  said,  "  Seeing  ye  put  the  word  of  God  from  you,  and 
judge  yourselves  unworthy  of  everlasting  life,  lo,  we  turn  to 
the  Gentiles"  (Acts  xiii.  46).  To  his  hostile  countrymen  at 
Corinth,  his  words  were,  "Your  blood  be  upon  your  own  heads; 
I  am  clean ;  from  henceforth  I  will  go  unto  the  Gentiles " 
(xviii.  6). 

Secondly,  The  fall  of  Israel  restrained  the  foul  spirit  of  per- 
secution of  which  the  Jews  were  possessed.  "  They  please  not 
God,"  said  Paul,  "  and  are  contrary  to  all  men,  forbidding  us  to 
speak  to  the  Gentiles  that  they  might  be  saved  "  (1  Thess.  ii. 
15,  16).  The  restraints  that  were  laid  by  the  Romans  on  this 
spiteful  fanaticism  called  forth  the  complaint  of  the  (?onspira- 
tors  at  the  trial  of  Christ :  "  It  is  not  lawful  for  us  to  put  any 
man  to  death."  And  the  fierceness  with  which,  within  the 
limits  of  the  Roman  law  which  hedged  them  in,  they  pursued 
the  early  Christians,  may  be  seen,  to  look  no  farther,  in  the  out- 
rages which  Saul  of  Tarsus  inflicted  on  men  and  women,  and 
in  the  outrages  which  Paul  the  apostle,  in  his  turn,  endured  from 
his  own  countrymen.  And  so  the  diminution  of  the  persecut- 
ing power  of  the  Jews  was  the  riches  of  the  Gentiles. 

Thirdly,  The  Jewish  converts  were  very  reluctant  to  allow  the 
gospel  to  be  offered  to  the  Gentiles.  The  state  of  Peter's  mind 
before  he  saw  the  vision  at  Joppa,  and  the  dissatisfaction  of  the 
Jewish  Christians  with  Peter,  for  what  he  did  at  the  Pentecost 
of  the  Gentiles  in  the  house  of  Cornelius,  support  the  conclusion, 
that,  had  a  great  majority  of  the  Jews  embraced  the  Christian 
faith,  their  combined  opposition  to  the  spread  of  the  gospel 
among  the  Gentiles  would  have  been  almost  strong  enough  to 
suppress  the  work.  The  Gentiles  found  mercy,  not  in  the  con- 
version and  good-will,  but  in  the  casting-away,  of  Israel. 

Fourthly,  Tlie  Jewish  Christians  did  their  utmost  to  encumber 
the  gospel  with  the  ceremonies  of  the  Mosaic  law.     They  en- 


''LIFE  FROM  THE  BEAD:'  279 

deavored  to  enforce  circumcision  on  the  Gentiles.  Long  after 
the  ritual  of  Moses  had  ceased  to  be  obligatory,  they  maintained 
worship  in  the  temple,  and  endeavored  to  bring  everybody  into 
subjection  to  the  old  law.  But  the  destruction  of  the  temple,  at 
the  fall  of  Jerusalem,  abolishe<l  forever  the  distinctive  ceremonies 
of  the  Jewish  religion.  That  being  done,  they  could  neither 
impose  these  rites  on  the  not-Jew,  nor  observe  them  for  them- 
selves. The  extinction  of  these  rites  cleared  the  ground,  more- 
over, for  the  introduction  of  the  simple  and  spiritual  worship  of 
the  gospel  Church.  And  so  again  the  fall  of  Israel  helped  the 
glad  tidings. 

Fifthly,  The  destruction  of  the  nation  led  to  the  wide  dis- 
persion of  the  people  throughout  the  world.  The  apostles,  in 
their  missionary  journeys,  fell  in  everywhere,  in  the  persons 
of  their  countrymen,  with  outspoken  or  silent  witnesses  to 
the  existence  of  one  God,  —  only  one.  They  found,  in  many 
of  the  cities,  synagogues  for  public  worship,  the  keeping  of 
the  holy  sabbath,  and  the  public  reading  of  the  Scriptures  on 
every  seventh  day.  These  immense  facilities  for  the  work  of 
missions  to  the  Gentiles  followed  closely  in  the  train  of  Jewish 
unbelief  and  dispersion.  Once  more,  the  preservation  of  the 
Jews  as  a  separate  people,  and  their  sojourn  in  every  land  to 
this  day,  supplies  Christianity  with  a  wide-spread  testimony 
to  Moses  and  the  prophets,  which  is  not  less  persuasive  because 
it  comes  from  witnesses  who  are  avowedly  hostile  to  the  gospel. 

One  other  element  in  this  plan  of  Providence  completes  the 
demonstration.  Paul  teaches  us  that  the  conversion  of  the 
Gentiles  shall  re-act  on  the  Jews,  securing  their  restoration  to 
the  kingdom  of  God.  The  gospel  came  from  the  Jews  to  the 
Gentiles ;  it  shall  return  from  the  Gentiles  to  the  Jews.  The 
unbelief  of  the  Jews  became  the  occasion  of  mercy  to  the  Gen- 
tiles, though  the  Gentiles  were  so  long  disobedient;  so,  also, 
from  the  Gentiles  mercy  shall  come  to  the  Jews,  though  now 
they  are  unbelieving.  "For  as  ye  [Gentiles]  in  time  past 
have  not  believed  God,  yet  now  have  obtained  mercy  through 
their  [Israel's]  unbelief ;  even  so  have  these  also  [the  Jews] 
not  now  believed,  that  through  your  [Gentiles']  mercy,  they 


280  SACRED  HISTORY. 

also  may  obtain  mercy"  (Rom.  xi.  30,  31).  The  final  solution 
of  the  mystery  of  "  life  from  the  dead  "  will  appear  when  the 
pleroma,  or  the  abounding  blessings  granted  to  the  Gentiles, 
shall  be  completed  by  the  plei'oma,  or  abounding  blessings  to 
be  communicated  to  the  Jews  through  the  ministry  of  the 
Gentiles.  Well  might  the  apostle  who  wrestled  with  the  prob- 
lem, "Hath  God  cast  away  his  people?"  commemorate  the 
Divine  solution  with  the  doxology :  "  Oh  the  depth  of  the  riches 
both  of  the  wisdom  and  knowledge  of  God ! " 

The  apostle  clears  up  still  further  the  doctrine  of  co-ordinate 
excision  and  adoption,  through  the  figure  of  the  olive-tree,  first 
suggested  by  Jeremiah  (xi.  16).  The  "green  olive-tree,  fair 
and  of  goodly  fruit,"  represents  the  Church  of  God,  and  the 
Jews  are  its  natural  branches.  The  olive-tree  which  is  "wild 
l)y  nature  "  represents  heathenism,  and  the  Gentiles  represent 
its  branches.  The  branches  broken  off  from  the  green  olive 
are  the  Jews  exscinded  from  the  Church  for  unbelief.  The 
branches  "cut  out  of  the  wild  olive,"  and  "graffed  contrary  to 
nature  into  a  good  olive-tree,"  are  the  believing  Gentiles,  incor- 
porated by  adoption  into  the  Church.  The  natural  branches, 
first  broken  off  and  then  graffed  in  again,  "  for  God  is  able  to 
graff  them  in  again,"  are  the  Jews,  "if  they  abide  not  in  unbe- 
lief" (Rom.  xi.  17-24).  This  twofold  process  is  not  an  after- 
thought, by  way  of  amendment  to  the  Abraharaic  covenant, 
but  one  of  its  specific  provisions :  excision  appearing,  as  we 
have  seen,  in  the  cutting-off  of  the  uncircumcised  man-child ; 
adoption  appearing  in  the  circumcision  of  the  man-child  born 
in  the  house  of  the  patriarch.  Without  pressing  too  far  the 
metaphor  of  the  olive-tree,  we  may  take  from  it  a  fine  illustra- 
tion of  the  truth  that  the  Church  and  kingdom  of  God  is 
indestructible.  The  life  in  the  trunk  of  the  good  olive-tree 
survives  all  mutilations.  Even  so  the  life  which  the  Church, 
the  body  of  Christ,  has  received  from  the  inbreathing  of  the 
Holy  Spirit,  is  an  incorruptible  seed,  a  living  soul,  ever-living, 
immortal.  The  Church  has  been  diminished,  and  brought  low 
by  repeated  excisions ;  but  its  losses  have  been  made  good,  and 
more  than  that  even,  by  repeated  adoptions.     On  account  of 


THE   CIIVBCU  INDESTRUCTIBLE.  281 

the  flagrant  apostasies,  Jehovah  warned  Isaiah  of  his  purpose 
to  bring  successive  devastations  on  Judsea.  He  would  first  lay 
waste  the  cities,  then  he  would  empty  the  houses,  then  turn  the 
land  into  an  utter  desolation.  Yet  with  the  threatening  came  a 
promise,  for  a  remnant  should  survive  to  the  very  last.  After 
the  entire  desolation  of  this  land,  there  shall  remain  a  tenth ; 
this  tenth  shall  again  be  consumed  —  but  not  utterly  —  for  like 
the  turpentine-tree,  and  like  the  oak,  which,  when  cut.  down, 
have  substance  or  vitality  in  them ;  even  so  a  holy  seed  shall 
be  the  vital  principle,  though  it  be  only  the  small  remnant,  the 
tenth  part,  which  appeared  to  be  destroyed.  "  However  fre- 
quently the  people  may  seem  to  be  destroyed,  there  shall  still 
be  a  surviving  remnant;  and  however  frequently  that  very 
remnant  may  seem  to  perish,  there  shall  still  be  a  remnant  of 
the  remnant  left ;  and  this  indestructible  residue  shall  be  the 
holy  seed  of  the  true  Church"  (Rom.  xi.  26).^  Subsequently, 
Jehovah  likened  the  faithful  Jew  in  the  falling^  kingdom  of 
Judah,  to  the  ripe  and  juicy  cluster  of  grapes  in  the  midst 
of  the  unripe  and  rotten  bunches :  "  Destroy  it  not,  for  a 
blessing  is  in  it ;  so  will  I  do  for  my  servants'  sake,  that  I  may 
not  destroy  them  all"  (Isa.  Ixv.  8).  In  the  same  sense,  Paul 
declares  that  "some  of  the  branches  of  the  good  olive-tree 
were  broken  off;"  some,  not  all;  and,  that  even  in  unbelieving 
Israel  there  was  "  a  remnant  according  to  the  election  of  grace  " 
(Rom.  xi.  5,  17). 

The  identity  of  the  Jewish  and  the  Christian  Church  is  an 
obvious  conclusion  from  Paul's  treatment  of  the  subject.  The 
good  olive-tree  represents  the  Church  which  was  instituted  in 
the  family  of  Abraham.  At  the  introduction  of  the  gospel,  the 
unbelieving  Jews  were  excluded  from  the  ancient  Church ;  be- 
lieving Gentiles  were  admitted  to  its  fellowship ;  and,  finally, 
the  Jews,  if  they  abide  not  in  unbelief,  will  be  restored  to  its 
communion.  As  the  good  olive,  now  mutilated,  now  replen- 
ished by  branches  from  the  wild  olive,  and  at  last  recovering 
the  branches  that  were  broken  off,  is  one  and  the  same  good 
olive,  so  the  Church  of  God  maintains  its  continuous  existence 

1  J.  A.  Alexaiuler  on  Isu.  vi.  V2,  13. 


282  SACRED  HISTORY. 

and  identity,  through  all  its  losses  and  all  its  gains,  and  in  the 
recovery  of  all  that  it  has  lost.  Paul  re-enforced  this  identity 
by  two  other  thoughts.  The  inexhaustible  spirit  of  life  in  the 
old  Church  is  represented  by  the  perpetual  vigor  of  the  olive- 
tree.  If  we  may  so  say,  the  trunk  of  the  olive,  which  Abraham 
planted  under  the  shadow  of  the  oaks  at  Hebron,  had  not  fallen 
into  decay  at  the  end  of  two  thousand  years.  So  full  was  it  of 
vitality,  that  it  was  able  to  communicate  life,  a  transforming 
life,  to  the  branches  of  the  olive  which  was  "  wild  by  nature, 
and  graffed  contrary  to  nature,"  and  then  supply  a  new  life  to 
the  branches  that  had  been  broken  off.  After  the  same  man- 
ner, the  old  Abrahamic  Church  was  able,  by  virtue  of  the 
indwelling  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  to  nurture  the  Divine  life  in 
the  believing  Gentiles,  and  to  revive  the  Jews  if  they  abode  not 
in  unbelief;  life  from  the  living,  vivum  e  vivo.  Here  is  the 
identity  we  speak  of.  To  this  Paul  adds  a  caution  to  the  Gen- 
tiles not  to  exult  over  the  Jews,  but  to  remember  that  they 
were  not  the  root,  but  the  branches  only ;  a  remark  which 
assumes  that  both  Jew  and  Gentile  rested  on  the  same  root, 
and  received  in  common  the  same  fatness  ;  identity  once  more. 
Leaving  the  figure,  we  are  taught  that  the  Gentiles  must  look 
for  eternal  life  in  the  communion  of  the  Church  founded  in  the 
family  of  Abraham.  Christ  did  not  create  a  separate  society, 
side  by  side  with  the  Jewish  Church,  for  the  converted  Romans 
or  barbarians  or  Scythians.  He  opened  to  them  the  doors  of 
his  one  kingdom,  as  old  as  Abraham's  day,  the  fundamental 
laws  of  which  were  the  covenant  of  grace,  and  the  covenant 
with  the  father  of  the  faithful ;  a  kingdom  which  in  the  begin- 
ning was,  and  henceforth  forever  shall  be,  one  and  the  same. 

The  same  doctrine  of  identity  appears  in  the  elementary 
principles  of  faith  and  practice  and  worship,  which  are  common 
to  both  dispensations.  The  Jehovah  of  the  Old  Testament  is 
the  Lord  of  the  New  Testament.  The  Triune  God  is  in 
both  the  sole  object  of  worship.  The  moral  law,  as  the  rule  of 
life,  is  the  same.  The  Jehovah-angel  who  entered  into  covenant 
with  Abraham,  who  was  with  the  Church  in  the  wilderness, 
and  to  whom  believers  in  olden  times  looked  for  salvation,  is 


GOB'S  KINGDOM  ONE  AND   CONTINUOUS.  283' 

the  God  who  was  manifest  in  the  flesh  in  the  days  of  John  the 
Baptist,  and  who  suffered  under  Pontius  Pilate.  The  blood  of 
redemption  wliich  was  shed  typically  for  transgressions  under 
the  first  covenant,  was  actually  shed,  once  for  all,  on  Calvary. 
The  plan  of  salvation  is  ever  the  same ;  so,  also,  is  the  gospel 
preached  to  Abraham  (Gal.  iii.  8),  the  gospel  declared  in  the 
wilderness,  and  the  gospel  proclaimed  to  us.  Whatsoever  doc- 
trines were  published  by  Moses  and  the  prophets,  were  repub- 
lished by  Christ  and  his  apostles,  —  the  fall  and  depravity  of 
man,  redemption  by  blood,  regeneration  and  sanctification  by 
the  Holy  Spirit,  the  resurrection  of  the  body,  the  final  judg- 
ment, eternal  life,  everlasting  punishment.  The  wail  of  repent- 
ance in  the  miserere  of  David  is  echoed  in  the  cry  of  the  publican 
who  went  up  to  the  temple  to  pray.  The  faith  of  the  patriarchs 
lived  in  the  hearts  of  the  apostles  and  brethren ;  being  every- 
where, in  all  ages,  the  same  in  its  nature,  object,  and  victory 
over  the  world.  The  spiritual  significance  of  the  covenant  is 
the  same  in  all  ages ;  the  promised  seed  are  true  believers,  and 
the  promised  land  is  heaven. 

Even  the  aspects  presented  by  the  two  dispensations,  although 
apparently  diverse,  do  not  affect  their  substantial  identity.  The 
old  was  temporary  and  insufficient;  the  new  is  permanent,  en- 
larging and  completing  its  predecessor.  The  first  dispensation 
was  administered  by  types  and  promises  and  sacrifices,  by  cir- 
cumcision and  the  Passover.  The  last  is  administered  by  the 
preaching  of  the  Word,  by  baptism  and  the  Lord's  Supper,  and 
by  a  government  purely  spiritual.  In  the  New-Testament 
Church,  grace  and  salvation  are  held  forth  in  a  fulness,  evidence, 
and  saving  power  on  the  nations,  unknown  in  the  ages  Mdiicli 
went  before.  Yet  none  of  these  things  cut  in  twain  the 
kingdom  of  God.  Here  certain  analogies  present  themselves. 
England  did  not  cease  to  be  England  by  the  reception  of  the 
Anglo-Saxons,  Danes,  and  Normans,  or  by  the  annexation  of 
the  American  Colonies,  Wales,  Scotland,  Ireland,  British  India, 
the  West  Indies,  Australia,  and  Burmah.  Nor  was  the  identity 
of  the  realm  disturbed  by  the  loss  of  its  imperial  position  on  the 
Western  Continent ;    nor  would  it  cease   to    be    England   by 


284  S ACE  ED  HISTORY. 

the  loss  of  its  forty  colonial  possessions.  France  has  been  the 
same  France  under  the  rapid  succession  of  diverse  administra- 
tions. Within  less  than  a  hundred  years  that  nation  has  been 
an  absolute  monarchy;  a  rex:)ublic  under  the  directory;  a  con- 
sulate; an  empire;  a  military  despotism  ;  a  limited  monarchy 
again,  first  under  Bourbons,  then  under  the  House  of  Orleans ; 
a  republic  under  a  prince-president ;  an  empire  for  the  second 
time ;  and  for  the  third  time  a  republic.  In  like  manner,  the 
Church  and  kingdom  of  God  has  been  one  and  the  same 
Church  and  kingdom,  under  one  and  the  same  great  Head, 
through  all  its  vicissitudes;  through  losses  and  gains,  defeats 
and  victories,  apostasies  and  reformations,  captivities  and 
restorations,  —  always  one,  undivided,  indivisible,  indestructible 
Church. 


PERPETUITY  OF  TUE   COVENANT.  285 


CHAPTER  XX. 

THE  COVENANT   ENDUEING   FOEEVEE. 

To  the  question  whether  the  Abrahamic  covenant  was  a 
temporary  or  a  permanent  institute,  the  first  answer  may  be 
taken  from  the  terms  of  the  ordinance  itself.  God  said  to 
Abraham,  "  I  will  establish  my  covenant  between  me  and 
thee  and  thy  seed  after  thee  in  their  generations,  for  an  ever- 
lasting covenant,  to  be  a  God  to  thee  and  to  thy  seed  after 
thee."  And  again,  "Sarah,  thy  wife,  shall  bear  thee  a  son 
indeed ;  and  thou  shalt  call  his  name  Isaac ;  and  I  will  estab- 
lish my  covenant  with  him  for  an  everlasting  covenant,  and 
with  his  seed  after  him."  The  perpetuity  of  these  engage- 
ments is  indicated  by  the  term  "  everlasting."  The  case  would 
be  fully  covered  but  for  the  circumstance  that  the  term  "  ever- 
lasting "  in  the  covenant  is,  in  some  places  in  Scripture,  equiva- 
lent to  "  indefinitely-,"  or  "  during  the  present  order  of  things." 
We  must  give  attention,  therefore,  to  other  scriptures,  in  which 
the  question  in  regard  to  the  perpetuity  of  the  covenant  is 
cleared  up. 

The  covenant  was  in  full  force  through  the  whole  period 
from  Abraham  down  to  Nehemiah  and  Malachi.  In  the  the- 
ophanies  granted  to  Isaac  and  Jacob,  the  covenant  was  specifi- 
cally renewed.  Indeed,  the  engagement  and  the  oath  by  which 
it  was  confirmed  came  to  be  called  the  "covenant  with  Abra- 
ham, Isaac,  and  Jacob,"  and  the  oath  "  which  God  sware  unto 
the  fathers"  (Exod.  ii.  24,  xiii.  5).  The  most  critical  periods 
in  the  history  of  the  bondage  in  Egypt,  and  the  wandering  in 
the  wilderness,  were  marked  by  the  Avord  of  God  acknowledg- 
ing this  agreement.     After  the  return  of  JNIoses  to  Egypt,  God 


286  SACBED  HISTORY. 

made  known  to  the  Israelites  his  incommunicable  name  Jehovah, 
and  said,  "  I  have  also  established  my  covenant  with  them,  .  .  . 
and  I  have  remembered  my  covenant "  (Exod.  vi.  4,  5).  When 
the  cry  of  the  children  of  Israel  "came  up  unto  God  by 
reason  of  bondage,  God  heard  their  groaning,  and  God  remem- 
bered his  covenant  with  Abraham,  with  Isaac,  and  with  Jacob  " 
(Exod.  ii.  24,  25).  When  they  worshipped  the  golden  calf  at 
Sinai,  God's  anger  waxed  hot  against  them,  and  he  was  about 
to  destroy  them  all.  Moses  reminded  him  of  the  oath  which 
he  had  sworn  to  the  three  old  patriarchs,  declaring  that  he 
would  multiply  their  seed,  and  give  to  them  the  land  of  Canaan. 
"  And  the  Lord  repented  of  the  evil  which  he  thought  to  do 
unto  the  people  "  (xxxii.  7-14).  Next,  the  law  given  at  Sinai 
did  not  supersede  this  engagement.  Such  is  the  direct  testi- 
mony of  Paul :  "  And  this  I  say,  that  the  covenant  that  was 
confirmed  before  of  God  in  Christ,  the  law,  which  was  four 
hundred  and  thirty  years  after,  cannot  disannul,  that  it  should 
make  the  promise  of  God  of  none  effect"  (Gal.  iii.  17).  Indeed, 
four  several  times  during  the  wandering,  God  reminded  the 
people  of  the  oath  which  he  had  sworn  to  the  three  old  patri- 
archs, making  the  land  of  Canaan  sure  to  them :  first,  at  Kadesh- 
barnea,  when  he  turned  them  back  to  wander  thirty-eight  years 
in  the  wilderness ;  next,  in  the  land  of  Moab,  when  they  were 
approaching  the  end  of  the  journey ;  again,  iit  the  second  giving 
of  the  law  by  Moses,  while  the  people  were  encamped  in  the 
plain  west  of  the  Jordan ;  and  for  the  fourth  time,  just  before 
the  mysterious  death  of  Moses  (Num.  xxxii.  11 ;  Dent.  i.  8, 
vi.  10,  XXX.  20).  Four  hundred  years  later,  David  brought  the 
ark  of  the  covenant  into  the  tent  prepared  for  it.  In  the  psalm 
which  he  sang  on  this  occasion,  these  strains  occur :  — 

"  He  hath  remembered  his  covenant  forever, 
The  word  which  he  commanded  to  a  thousand  generations ; 
Which  covenant  he  made  with  Abraham, 
And  his  oath  unto  Isaac  ; 
And  confirmed  the  same  unto  Jacob  for  a  law, 
And  to  Israel  for  an  everlasting  covenant, 
Saying,  Unto  thee  will  I  give  the  land  of  Canaan, 
The  lot  of  your  inheritance  "  (1  Chroii.  xvi.  15-18). 


THE  ADVENT   WITHIN   THE   COVENANT.  287 

Two  centuries  after  David's  reign,  the  covenant  came  to  the 
surface  unexpectedly,  as  it  were.  The  ten  tribes  had  become 
obstinate  in  their  voluntary  separation  from  the  kingdom  of 
God,  and  were  in  subjection  to  Hazael,  king  of  Syria.  In  their 
extremity,  Jehovah  remembered  his  covenant  with  Abraham, 
the  ancestor  of  these  rebellious  people.  "  He  was  gracious  unto 
them,  and  had  compassion  on  them,  and  had  respect  unto  them, 
because  of  his  covenant  with  Abraham,  Isaac,  and  Jacob ;  and 
would  not  destroy  them,  neither  cast  he  them  from  his  presence 
as  yet."  Hazael  died,  and  the  oppression  ceased  (2  Kings  xiii. 
22-25).  In  the  latter  part  of  the  following  century,  Micah, 
the  prophet  of  Judah,  celebrated  the  truth  to  Jacob  and  the 
mercy  to  Abraham  which  God  had  sworn  to  the  fathers  from 
the  days  of  old  (Mic.  vii.  20).  After  the  return  of  Judah  from 
captivity  in  Babylon,  Nehemiah  held  a  solemn  feast.  In  the 
prayer  on  that  occasion,  devout  mention  is  made  of  the  calling 
of  Abram,  and  of  the  covenant  which  God  made  with  him 
to  give  the  land  of  Canaan  to  his  seed,  —  a  recognition  of  God's 
faithfulness,  most  ajopropriate  to  the  return  of  the  chosen  seed 
from  an  exile  of  seventy  years  (Neh.  ix.  7,  8).  Nehemiah  is 
the  last  of  the  Old-Testament  historians ;  showing  that  the 
Abrahamic  covenant  was  in  full  force  and  effect  at  the  latest 
moment  of  the  time  recorded  in  the  Hebrew  Scriptures.  In- 
spiration ceased  during  the  dreary  interval  of  about  four  hun- 
dred years,  which  separated  the  age  of  ]\Ialachi  from  the 
incarnation  ;  but,  meanwhile,  this  imperishable  constitution 
lost  none  of  its  vitality.  On  the  very  threshold  of  the  New 
Testament  we  hear  the  Magnificat  of  Mary  praising  Jehovah, 
and  saying,  — 

"  My  soul  doth  magnify  the  Lord, 
And  my  spirit  hath  rejoiced  in  God  my  Saviour. 


He  hath  holpen  Israel  his  servant, 
That  he  might  remember  mercy 
(As  he  spake  unto  our  fathers) 
Toward  Abraham  and  his  seed  forever." 

(Luke  i.  40,  47,  54,  55.) 


288  SACRED  HISTORY. 

Just  before  the  birth  of  John  the  Baptist,  his  father,  Zacharias, 
prophesied,  saying,  — 

"  Blessed  be  the  Lord,  the  God  of  Israel, 
For  he  hath  visited'  and  wrought  redemption  for  his  people, 

To  perform  the  mercy  promised  to  our  fathers, 

And  to  remember  his  holy  covenant. 

The  oath  which  he  sware  to  our  father  Abraham." 

(Luke  i.  68-73.) 

The  testimony  here  is  to  the  effect  that  the  incarnation,  so  far 
from  making  void  the  covenant  with  Abraham,  fulfilled  some 
of  its  most  significant  provisions. 

The  perpetuity  of  the  covenant  is  still  further  established  by 
the  places  in  the  New  Testament,  wherein,  instead  of  the  word 
"  covenant,"  its  spiritual  promises  are  repeated.  The  word,  for 
example,  does  not  occur  in  the  great  commission,  "  Go,  teach 
all  nations."  Yet  the  command  is  simply  an  echo  of  the  cove- 
nant promise  to  Abraham,  "  In  thee  shall  all  nations  be  blessed." 
Nor  does  the  word  "  covenant  "  appear  in  any  of  the  places  that 
follow :  "  Know  ye,  therefore,  that  they  which  are  of  faith,  the 
same  are  the  children  of  Abraham."  "And  the  Scripture, 
foreseeing  that  God  would  justify  the  heathen  through  faith, 
preached  before  the  gospel  unto  Abraham,  sayings  In  thee 
shall  all  nations  be  blessed.  So  they  that  be  of  faith  are 
blessed  with  faithful  Abraham  "  (Gal.  iii.  7-9).  "  Christ  hath 
redeemed  us  from  the  curse  of  the  law,  being  made  a  curse  for 
us ;  for  it  is  written.  Cursed  is  every  one  that  hangeth  on  a 
tree ;  that  the  blessing  of  Abraham  might  come  on  the  Gentiles 
through  Jesus  Christ ;  so  that  we  might  receive  the  promise  of 
the  Spirit  through  faith"  (Gal.  iii.  13,  14).  "And  if  ye  be 
Christ's,  then  are  ye  Abraham's  seed"  (Gal.  iii.  29).  It  is 
clear  that  the  blessings  here  enumerated  are  precisely  those 
which  are  made  sure  in  the  Abrahamic  covenant,  and  none 
other ;  and  the  apostle  assumes  that  these  promises  were,  when 
he  wrote,  outstanding.  Now,  the  perpetuity  of  the  provisions 
of  the  covenant  carries  with  it  the  perpetuity  of  the  covenant 
itself.     From  all  this,  the  conclusion  must  be  that  the  cove- 


ENGAGEMENTS  STILL   OUTSTANDING.  289 

nant  was  confirmed  from  age  to  age  as  the  constitution  of  the 
kingdom  of  God  in  the  Old  Testament  and  the  New.  Nor  is 
the  covenant  ever  described,  in  either  Testament,  as  a  temporary 
expedient  which  had  passed  away,  or  which  sliould  ever  become 
obsolete.  The  case  will  be  finished  when  it  shall  be  shown  that 
the  covenant  is  in  full  force  and  effect  to  this  day. 

A  contract  between  two  or  more  parties  cannot  be  abrogated 
until  all  its  provisions  are  executed.  A  man  enters  with  his 
son  into  an  agreement,  written,  signed,  sealed,  and  recorded  in 
due  form.  He  gives  to  his  son  several  valuable  estates,  real 
and  personal,  with  the  provision  that  he  shall  come  into  the 
possession  of  the  estates,  one  by  one,  at  certain  future  periods ; 
and  with  the  further  provision  that  such  of  the  property  as  is 
capable  of  such  transfer  shall  go  to  his  heirs  and  assigns  forever. 
It  is  obvious  that  the  engagement  is  binding  until  the  estates 
are  all  turned  over  to  the  son ;  and  as  to  such  of  the  property 
as  may  pass  by  sale  or  inheritance,  the  agreement  runs 
against  all  time  to  come.  Now,  among  the  gifts  conveyed  by 
God's  covenant  to  Abraham  were  a  chosen  seed,  the  chosen 
land,  a  blessing  on  him  and  on  his  offspring,  a  blessing  on  their 
friends  and  a  curse  on  their  enemies,  and,  finally,  the  transcen- 
dent promise  of  the  Messiah,  lineally  descending  from  him. 
These  promises  have  been  fulfilled.  Another,  to  the  effect  that 
the  gospel  preached  to  Abraham  should  be  offered  to  the  Gen- 
tiles, has  been  performed  in  part ;  and  that  is  a  connecting  link 
between  those  that  have  been  fully  discharged  and  those  that 
are  outstanding.  The  argument  js,  that  the  covenant  must 
stand  good  until  all  its  outstanding  provisions  are  executed. 
Here  three  lines  of  thought  invite  attention. 

According  to  one  of  the  most  prominent  provisions  of  the 
covenant,  the  salvation  flowing  from  Abraham  shall  fill  the 
earth.  This  stipulation  appears  in  a  variety  of  forms:  "In 
thee  shall  all  the  families  of  the  earth  be  blessed ; "  this  bless- 
ing is  the  good  news.  "In  thy  seed  shall  all  nations  of  the 
earth  be  blessed ; "  and  this  seed  is  Christ.  This  covenant 
promise  has  not  been  fulfilled ;  nor  will  it  be  until  the  disciples 
of  Christ  shall  have  obeyed  his  command  to   evangelize  all 


290  SACBED  HISTORY. 

nations,  to  preach  the  gospel  to  every  creature,  and  to  be  wit- 
nesses for  him  unto*  the  uttermost  parts  of  the  earth.  Nor  is 
this  all.  A  cherished  purpose  of  Christ,  in  regard  to  his  own 
kindred,  remains  to  be  executed.  The  casting-off  of  the  Jews 
was  the  occasion  of  the  spread  of  the  gospel  among  the  Gen- 
tiles ;  and,  when  the  fulness  of  the  Gentiles  is  gathered  in,  the 
Jews,  by  the  mercy  of  the  Gentiles,  shall  be  converted,  and  "  so 
all  Israel  shall  be  saved."  "  For,"  says  God,  "  this  is  my  cove- 
nant unto  them  when  I  shall  take  away  their  sins :  as  concern- 
ing the  gospel,  they  are  enemies  for  your  sakes ;  but,  as  touching 
the  election,  they  are  beloved  for  the  fathers'  sakes  "  (Rom.  xi. 
25-28).  That  is  to  say,  the  covenant  made  with  Abraham  will 
secure  the  salvation  of  the  Jews  as  a  people.  "  I  hold,"  remarks 
Calvin,  speaking  of  the  Jews,  "that  God  is  not  unmindful  of 
his  covenant  which  he  made  with  their  fathers,  in  which  he 
witnessed  that  he  had  lovingly  embraced  the  race  in  his  eternal 
counsel."  ^  All  these  provisions  of  the  covenant,  in  regard  to 
the  salvation  of  Jew  and  Gentile,  remain  to  be  executed ;  the 
covenant,  therefore,  which  contains  them,  holds  good  to  this 
day.  We  are  taught  by  our  jurisprudence  that  a  law  continues 
in  force  so  long  as  the  reason  of  it  remains :  "  Manente  ratiove, 
manet  ipsa  lex ;  cessante  ratione,  cessat  ipsa  lex.''''  We  are  taught 
the  same  thing  substantially  by  Paul:  "Brethren,  I  speak 
after  the  manner  of  men ;  though  it  be  but  a  man's  covenant, 
yet  if  it  be  confirmed,  no  man  disannulleth  or  addeth  thereto  " 
(Gal.  iii.  15). 

Two  other  integral  elements  in  the  covenant  have  a  similar 
bearing.  One  of  these  is  God's  oath  for  confirmation  that  was 
sworn  at  the  sacrifice  of  Isaac.  Paul  treats  this  oath  as  still 
unrevoked,  and  as  intended  for  the  comfort  of  God's  people  in 
every  age  (Heb.  vi.  13-18).  He  describes  believers  under  the 
gospel  as  heirs  of  the  promises  made  to  Abraham,  and  the  oath 
as  intended  to  re-assure  all,  of  every  coming  age,  who  love  the 
Lord,  in  "  the  immutability  of  his  counsel ; "  "  that  by  two  immu- 
table things,  in  which  it  is  impossible  for  God  to  lie,  we  might 
have  a  strong  consolation,  who  have  fled  for  refuge  to  lay  hold 
1  Hodge:  Eom.  xi.  28. 


EXALTED  PLACE   OF  THE   COVENANT.  291 

on  tlio  hope  set  before  us."  The  oath  is  "  immutable,"  and  the 
perpetuity  of  the  oath  carries  with  it  the  perpetuity  of  the  cove- 
nant whereof  the  oath  is  the  supreme  sanction.  For  another 
j)articuhxr,  we  have  already  observed  that  the  three  pilgrim 
fathers  understood  the  covenant  to  be,  and  it  was  in  fact,  a  con- 
veyance to  them  of  the  earthly  Canaan  not  only,  but  of  another 
country  likewise,  even  a  heavenly.^  This  stipulation  secured 
the  same  inheritance  to  the  posterity  of  the  patriarchs  after 
them,  the  earthly  Canaan  to  their  natural  posterity,  the  heavenly 
to  their  spiritual.  The  covenant  is  a  guaranty  to  all  the  re- 
deemed, of  every  age,  of  their  eternal  blessedness.  The  cove- 
nant must  continue  until  the  guaranty  is  made  good.  The 
engagement  with  Noah  supplies  an  analogy.  God  said  to  liim, 
"  I  will  establish  my  covenant  with  you ;  for  neither  shall  all 
flesh  be  cut  off  any  more  by  the  waters  of  a  flood,  neither  shall 
there  any  more  be  a  flood  to  destroy  the  earth."  Nobody 
doubts  that  this  engagement  is  as  binding  to-day  as  it  was  on 
the  day  when  Noah  went  out  of  the  ark.  That  covenant  by 
which  God  bound  himself  not  to  drown  the  world  a  second  time, 
and  that  other  covenant  by  which  he  promised  to  bless  all 
nations  in  Abraham,  —  a  covenant  confirmed  by  an  oath,  and 
"securing  for  his  people  a  city  which  is  yet  to  come,  —  both  are 
everlasting. 

The  exalted  position  which  is  assigned  to  the  Abrahamic 
covenant  by  proof  of  its  perpetuity,  casts  liglit  \x])(n\  important 
heads  of  Christian  doctrine.  It  defines,  in  the  first  place,  the 
relation  of  the  Sinai  covenant,  so  called,  to  the  Abrahamic. 
The  commands  which  Moses  received  at  his  first  interview  with 
Jehovah  on  Mount  Sinai  were  reduced  to  the  form  of  a  special 
agreement,  were  committed  to  writing,  were  read  to  the  people, 
and  were  solemnly  adopted  by  them  as  the  rule  of  life.  The 
central  mass  of  these  ordinances  were  the  Ten  Commandments. 
The  ordinances,  as  a  whole,  were  ratified  by  a  sacrifice.  Blood 
was  sprinkled  upon  the  altar,  upon  the  book  of  the  law,  and 
upon  the  people.  While  Moses  was  sprinkling  the  blood  upon 
the  people,  he  said,  "  Behold  the  blood  of  the  covenant,  which 

1  Cbap.  XX. 


292  SAC  BED  HISTORY. 

the  Lord  hath  made  with  you  concerning  all  these  words  "  (or 
"upon  all  these  conditions,"  Mev.  Ver.^  (Exod.  xxiv.  3-8; 
Heb.  ix.  19,  20).  This  engagement  is  called  the  Sinai  covenant, 
or  the  covenant  made  at  Horeb.  The  record  is  known  as 
the  book  of  the  covenant,  the  two  tables  of  the  law  are  the 
tables  of  the  covenant,  the  chest  in  which  they  were  placed 
was  the  ark  of  the  covenant,  the  most  holy  place  in  which 
the  ark  was  deposited  was  the  tabernacle  of  the  covenant,  and 
the  Hebrew  writings  into  which  they  were  copied  are  sometimes 
called  the  scriptures  of  the  old  covenant.  It  is  nowhere  inti- 
mated that  the  Sinai  covenant  superseded  that  given  to  Abra- 
ham. The  first  named  is  invariably  treated  as  an  extension  or 
advanced  stage  of  the  other,  and  yet  temporary  and  provisional, 
except  only  in  the  Ten  Commands.  Moses  took  care,  in  speak- 
ing of  the  Abrahamic  covenant,  to  say,  "  Because  ye  hearken  to 
these  judgments,  and  keep  and  do  them,  the  Lord  thy  God 
shall  keep  with  thee  the  covenant  and  the  mercy  which  he 
sware  unto  thy  fathers  "  (Deut.  vii.  12).  We  are  taught  by  Paul 
that  "  the  law  was  added  because  of  transgressions,"  to  declare 
their  heinousness  and  their  just  penalty,  and  to  show  man's 
need  of  Divine  pardon  and  justification ;  and  he  insists  that  the 
law  "  cannot  disannul "  the  covenant  which  was  made  five  hun- 
dred and  thirty  years  earlier  (Gal.  iii.  17).  In  the  eighth 
chapter  of  the  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews,  Paul  discusses  the  "  new 
covenant "  described  by  Jeremiah  (xxxi.  33,  34),  and  the 
"everlasting  covenant"  (xxxii.  40).  Paul  shows  that  the  new 
and  the  everlasting  covenant  is  the  gospel  dispensation,  and  the 
"  old  covenant "  is  the  same  that  was  given  at  Sinai.  In  Heb. 
viii.  13,  he  speaks  of  an  "old  covenant"  "which  decayeth  and 
waxeth  old  and  is  ready  to  vanish  away."  By  these  terms,  as 
he  makes  it  plain,  he  describes  not  the  Abrahamic  but  the 
Sinai  covenant,  so  far  as  it  consists  of  the  ceremonial  law ;  and 
he  assumes  that  such  is  the  sense  of  Jeremiah.  The  reader  of 
the  Scriptures  should  not  lose  sight  of  the  broad  distinction 
between  the  Abrahamic  covenant  and  the  "  old  covenant,"  to 
wit,  the  Sinai  covenant.  Much  confusion  of  thought  has  arisen 
from  a  failure  to  notice  that  distinction. 


THE   CIIUBCn  AND    THE   CIIILBREN.  293 

Secondly,  The  identity  of  the  Church  in  all  dispensations  — 
the  Patriarchal,  Jewish,  and  Christian  —  is  established  by  the 
perpetuity  of  the  Abrahamic  covenant.  On  the  basis  of  this 
engagement,  as  its  organic  law  or  charter,  the  Church  was 
organized,  and  its  affairs  administered  from  the  beginning. 
The  charter  itself,  being  in  its  terms  and  nature  everlasting, 
gives  perpetuity  to  the  spiritual  society  resting  upon  it.  Other 
arguments  in  support  of  this  position  have  been  already  sub- 
mitted to  the  reader  of  these  pages :  an  argument  drawn  from 
the  plan  of  Providence  in  regard  to  the  conversion  of  the  dis- 
obedient Gentiles  and  the  unbelieving  Jews,  with  an  illustration 
supplied  by  the  olive-tree  (Rom.  xi.)  ;  and  an  argument  resting 
on  the  creed  of  the  Church,  one  and  the  same  in  all  ages.^ 
The  demonstration  is  threefold,  and  a  threefold  cord  cannot  be 
broken.  The  way  is  now  open  for  another  step  towards  the 
interior  of  the  subject. 

1,  It  will  not  be  denied  that  the  infant  children  of  the  chosen 
people  were,  with  their  parents,  members  of  the  Church  by 
virtue  of  the  covenant  with  Abraham,  and  the  laws  of  Moses. 
We  have  proved  that  the  Church  —  Abrahamic,  Jewish,  and 
Christian  —  is  one  and  the  same  Church.  From  these  two 
premises  the  conclusion  must  be,  that  the  infant  children  of 
believers  are,  with  their  parents,  members  of  the  Church  of  God, 
unless  they  have  been  excluded  by  the  same  Divine  authority 
which  placed  them  there.  The  burden  of  proof  rests  with 
those  who  seek  to  deprive  little  children  of  the  birthright  of 
church-membership,  which  they  enjoyed,  without  dispute  or 
challenge  from  any  quarter,  through  two  thousand  years,  — 
from  Abraham  to  Christ, — and  which  \A^as  confirmed  to  them 
by  Christ  and  the  apostles. 

2.  God  entered  into  covenant  with  Abraham  not  only  for 
himself,  but  for  his  seed.  Circumcision,  which  was  at  once 
a  sign  and  an  integral  part  of  the  covenant,  was,  by  Divine 
connnand,  to  be  administered  to  the  child  eight  days  old.  And 
the  covenant  was  concluded  with  the  patriarch  not  only,  but 
with  his  seed  after  him  "  in  their  generations ; "  and  it  is  de- 

1  Chap,  xxiv.,  Excision  and  Adoption. 


294  SACRED  HISTORY. 

clared  to  be  "an  everlasting  covenant."  The  spiritual  rights 
of  the  parents  and  their  children  are  put  upon  the  same  footing; 
"  to  thee  and  thy  seed  after  thee,"  is  the  word  of  the  Lord. 
Neither  believers  nor  their  children  can  be  ousted  of  vested 
rights,  unless  by  a  Divine  ordinance  to  that  effect,  no  less 
explicit  than  the  Divine  ordinance  by  which  the  rights  were 
acquired.  No  such  revelation  has  been,  none  such  can  be, 
produced. 

3.  Silence  never  destroys,  but  supports,  privileges  once 
granted  and  reduced  to  the  form  of  a  covenant,  confirmed  by 
an  oath,  expressly  declared  to  be  everlasting,  and  never  revoked. 
The  silence  of  the  New  Testament,  for  example,  touching  the 
admission  of  females  to  the  Christian  passover,  does  not  debar 
them  from  the  privilege  secured  to  them  by  the  law  of  the 
Jewish  passover.  Nor  does  the  omission  of  the  Fourth  Com- 
mand in  the  New  Testament  abrogate  the  law  of  the  sabbath. 
But  the  silence  of  Christ  in  regard  to  infant  children  is  not 
wholly  unbroken.  He  found  them  in  the  Church.  Like  him- 
self, they  were  there  by  right  of  birth  and  by  virtue  of  the  cove- 
nant ;  and  their  right  had  been  recognized,  as  vested  in  him 
and  them  alike,  by  the  ordinance  of  circumcision.  By  no  word 
or  sign  did  he  hint  at  their  excision.  Instead  of  that,  he  took 
them  in  his  arms  and  blessed  them ;  and  said,  "  Of  such  is  the 
kingdom  of  heaven."  John  Owen  writes :  "  A  spiritual  privi- 
lege once  granted  by  God  unto  any  cannot  be  changed,  dis- 
annulled, or  abrogated,  without  an  especial  Divine  revocation 
of  it  by  God  himself,  or  the  substitution  of  a  greater  privilege 
and  mercy  m  its  room."  "  They  who  deny  the  right  of  the 
infant  seed  of  believers  to  a  participation  of  the  covenant  and 
the  initial  seal  of  it,  which  was  granted  to  the  infant  seed  of 
Abraham,  cannot  produce  any  revocation  of  it  by  God  himself, 
nor  any  greater  mercy  and  privilege  granted  unto  them  in  its 
room,  which  they  do  not  once  pretend  unto,  but  leave  the  seed 
of  believers,  while  in  their  infant  state,  in  the  same  condition 
as  those  of  pagans  and  infidels,  expressly  contrary  to  God's 
covenant."  ^ 

1  Owen:  Works,  vol.  xvi.  p.  259. 


NO   SEAL    UNLESS  IT  BE  BAPTISM.  295 

Thirdly,  With  regard  to  the  relation  of  baptism  to  circum- 
cision, we  are  taught  in  the  Bible  :  (1)  The  sign  of  Church- 
membership  under  the  Old  Testament  was  circumcision,  under 
the  gospel  it  is  baptism.  (2)  Circumcision  and  the  Passover 
were  declared  to  be  perpetual :  the  former  in  Gen.  xvii.  13, 
"  My  covenant  shall  be  in  your  ilesh  for  an  everhisting  cove- 
nant ;  "  the  Passover  in  Exod.  xii.  24,  "  And  ye  shall  observe 
this  thing  for  an  ordinance  to  thee  and  to  thy  sons  forever." 
Now,  it  is  admitted  by  everybody  that  the  Passover  is  perpetu- 
ated in  the  Lord's  Supper.  In  what  is  circumcision  perpetuated 
if  not  in  baptism  ?  (3)  Circumcision  is  not  only  the  token  of 
the  covenant,  but  in  some  good  and  sound  sense  it  is  the 
covenant  itself,  —  "a  covenant  in  the  flesh"  (Gen.  xvii.  13). 
What  has  become  of  that  token  and  covenant  if  baptism  be 
not,  in  the  same  good  and  sound  sense,  both  the  token  and  the 
covenant  ?  (4)  The  sovereign  dignity  of  the  old  ordinance 
is  set  forth  in  the  penalty  and  denunciation  incurred  by  its 
neglect :  "  And  the  uncircumcised  man-child,  whose  flesh  of 
his  foreskin  is  not  circumcised,  that  soul  shall  be  cut  off  from 
his  people;  he  hath  broken  my  covenant"  (Gen.  xvii.  14). 
Here  is  a  ceremony,  the  neglect  of  which  is  stigmatized  as 
covenant-breaking,  and  punished  by  excision  from  God's  people. 
It  is  hard  to  believe  that  such  an  ordinance,  so  protected  by 
the  law  of  crime  and  punishment,  was  suddenly  blotted  out 
of  the  holy  ritual,  leaving  in  existence  no  other  appointed  act  of 
obedience  as  its  representative.  In  point  of  fact,  the  Almighty 
made  circumcision  an  integral  part  of  an  everlasting  covenant. 
Unless  it  was  merged  into  baptism,  even  as  the  Passover  was 
merged  into  the  Lord's  Supper,  it  has  no  survivor  in  the 
Church ;  it  is  an  expunged  and  obsolete,  not  an  "  everlasting," 
ordinance.  (5)  Baptism  has  taken  the  place  of  circumcision 
as  the  sign  and  seal  of  the  covenant.  Otherwise-  the  covenant 
is  left,  by  the  withdrawal  of  the  original  seal,  without  any  sign 
or  seal  whatever,  just  as  the  covenant  with  Noah  would  be 
deprived  of  its  token  if  the  rainbow  were  removed.  (6)  From 
and  after  the  beginning  of  the  Abrahamic  Church,  circumcision 
was  the  initiatory  rite.     From  and  after  the  beginning  of  the 


296  SACRED  HISTORY. 

Gospel  Church,  baptism  was,  and  still  is,  the  initiatory  rite. 
Our  Lord  in  his  last  command  settled  the  law  of  the  case.  He 
did  not  say,  "  Go  teach  all  nations,  circumcising  them  :  "  he  did 
say,  "  Go  teach  all  nations,  baptizing  them."  And  so  baptism 
became  the  rite  of  initiation  to  Jews  and  Gentiles.  At  the 
Pentecost,  Peter,  speaking  to  an  immense  throng  of  Jews,  ex- 
horted them  to  repent,  and  be  baptized ;-  taking  no  account 
wdiatever  of  the  mark  in  their  flesh.  "  And  as  many  as  believed 
were  baptized."  Paul,  long  after  liis  conversion,  thought  it 
proper  to  allege  that  he  was  "  circumcised  the  eighth  day " 
(Phil.  iii.  5).  But  at  his  conversion  he  came  into  the  Chris- 
tian Church  by  another  door;  "he  arose  and  was  baptized,"  — 
his  circumcision,  as  touching  the  Christian  profession,  going  for 
nothing.  Baptism  was  administered  also  to  the  Samaritan  con- 
verts, to  the  Gentiles,  to  the  Ethiopian,  to  the  Roman  soldier, 
Cornelius  and  his  friends  and  kinsmen;  to  the  several  house- 
holds of  Stephanas  in  Corinth,  of  Lydia  and  of  the  jailer  in 
Philippi.  (7)  The  council  at  Jerusalem  refused  to  lay  upon 
the  Gentile  Christians  the  burden  of  the  old  ordinance.  Only 
one  instance  of  circumcision  is  found  among  the  acts  of  the 
apostles.  It  was  administered  by  Paul  to  Timothy,  a  Jew  of 
the  half  blood,  with  the  hope  of  conciliating  the  "Jews  in  those 
quarters."  When  pressed  to  administer  the  rite  to  Titus,  who 
was  a  Gentile  of  the  pure  blood,  Paul  refused  compliance, 
because  the  Gentiles  were  exempt  from  circumcision  by  the 
decree  of  the  council  at  Jerusalem  (Acts  xv).  When  after- 
wards Paul  perceived  that  the  Jews  were  teaching  that  salva- 
tion was  tied  to  circumcision,  he  summarily  stamped  out  the 
heresy  by  declaring  that  circumcision,  having  become  perverted, 
would  work  a  separation  from  Christ;  "I  Paul  declare  unto 
you,  that  if  ye  be  circumcised,  Christ  shall  profit  you  nothing  " 
(Gal.  V.  2).  At  length  the  ceremony,  being  shut  out  as  an  act 
of  false  worship  from  the  Gospel  Church,  passed  over  into  apos- 
tate Judaism,  leaving  baptism  in  pure  water  as  a  part  of  the 
Christian  worship,  —  its  only  initiatory  rite.  (8)  Paul  carried 
the  doctrine  still  farther,  showing  that  by  baptism  we  become 
incorporated  into  the  body  of  Abraham's   spiritual   children : 


BAPTISM  A    HAPPY  SUBSTITUTE.  297 

"  For  as  many  as  have  been  baptized  into  Christ  have  put  on 
Christ."  "  And  if  ye  be  Christ's,  then  are  ye  Abraham's  seed, 
and  heirs  according  to  the  promise"  (Gab  iii.  27-29).  (9)  The 
resembhxnce  between  the  two  ordinances  is  very  close.  Cir- 
cumcision signifies  moral  and  inward  purification ;  baptism  is 
the  emblem  of  the  new  birth,  or  the  washing  of  regeneration 
(Jer.  iv.  4 ;  John  iii.  5).  (10)  There  is  a  vital  connection 
between  circumcision  and  baptism.  In  Christ  "we  are  cir- 
cumcised with  the  circumcision  made  without  liands ; "  this 
operation  is  "the  putting-off  of  the  sins  of  the  flesh,"  and  it 
terminates  in  burial  with  Christ  in  baptism  (Col.  ii.  11,  12). 
We  conclude,  therefore,  that  baptism  has  taken  the  place  of 
circumcision.  At  the  same  time  it  is  true  that  there  is  far 
more  of  the  gospel  in  baptism  than  in  circumcision.  Baptism 
is  circumcision  "written  large." 

It  is  worthy  of  notice,  that,  when  circumcision  was  merged 
into  Christian  baptism,  it  shared  in  the  amendments  which  were 
introduced  into  the  ritual  of  gospel  worship.  The  directory  for 
worship  was  revised  throughout.  The  first  day  of  the  week 
took  tlie  place  of  the  seventh  day  as  holy  time,  although  the 
j)eople  were  originally  directed  to  observe  the  sabbath  as  "a 
perpetual  covenant"  (Exod.  xxxi.  16).  Instead  of  the  roasted 
lamb  and  the  bitter  herbs  used  in  the  Jewish  Passover,  bread 
and  wine  are  the  matter  of  the  Christian  Passover.  Prayer  and 
praise,  "  the  calves  of  the  lips,"  superseded  the  bloody  sacrifice 
(Hos.  xiv.  2).  Ministers  are  ordained  in  the  room  and  stead 
of  priests,  and  the  place  where  two  or  three  are  met  in  the 
name  of  Christ  is  as  sacred  as  the  temple.  Nothing  is  more 
appropriate  than  a  change  in  the  seal  of  the  Abrahamic  cove- 
nant from  a  bleeding  wound  to  the  sprinkling  with  clean  water, 
when  the  Church  received  from  the  Lord  a  thorough  revision  of 
its  modes  of  worship,  adapting  it  to  a  better  covenant. 

This  course  of  thouglit  suggests  answers  to  certain  objections 
which  are  urged  against  infant  baptism.  The  words  of  Peter 
at  the  Pentecost  are  quoted :  "  Repent,  and  be  baptized,  every 
one  of  you,  in  the  name  of  Jesus  Christ,  for  the  remission  of 
sins,"  etc.  (Acts  ii.  38).     Luke  adds,  "Then  they  that  gladly 


298  S  ACHED  HI  STORY. 

received  the  word  were  baptized  "  (ver.  41).  The  adverse  argu- 
ment is,  that  infant  children  are  not  entitled  to  baptism,  inas- 
much as  they  cannot  repent  of  sin,  or  gladly  receive  the  word. 
The  reply  is,  that  this  mode  of  reasoning  would  hurry  one  to 
a  more  pitiable  conclusion.  For  it  is  written  that  "  he  that 
believeth  on  the  Son  hath  everlasting  life  ;  but  he  that  believeth 
not  on  the  Son  shall  not  see  life,  but  the  wrath  of  God  abideth 
on  him  "  (John  iii.  36).  The  logic,  therefore,  that  deprives  the 
little  ones  of  baptism  for  the  lack  of  personal  repentance,  oon- 
signs  them  to  the  "  wrath  of  God "  for  the  lack  of  personal 
faith.  The  simple  truth  is,  that  God's  promises  and  threaten- 
ings  are  addressed,  not  to  helpless  infants,  but  to  those  who 
have  come  to  years  of  understanding.  To  this  should  be  added 
that  we  decline  to  baptize  the  children  of  unbelieving  parents, 
because  the  baptism  of  the  infant  is  not  necessary  to  its  sal- 
vation, and  because  we  have  no  authority  from  the  Lord  to 
administer  the  ordinance  to  children  whose  parents  do  not 
profess  faith  in  Christ. 

Other  exceptions  that  are  taken  to  infant  baptism  apply  in 
full  force  to  infant  circumcision.  Thus,  circumcision  is  a  sign 
of  the  Abrahamic  covenant.  But  the  child  of  eight  days  is 
destitute  of  self-consciousness,  reason,  will,  affections,  speech : 
how,  it  may  be  asked,  can  he  enter  into  covenant  with  God  ? 
Again,  circumcision  is  the  seal  of  the  righteousness  that  is  by 
faith :  with  what  propriety,  one  may  demand,  could  the  seal  be 
imposed  on  a  child,  who,  in  the  nature  of  the  case,  could  not 
put  forth  the  act  of  faith  ?  Further,  the  rite  bound  him  who 
received  it,  to  purity  of  heart  and  obedience  towards  God. 
How  unreasonable,  one  may  say,  —  nay,  how  preposterous, — is 
the  idea  of  binding  an  infant  child  to  pious  obligations !  To 
these  and  all  similar  interrogations  a  sufficient  answer  appears 
in  the  command  of  God :  "  He  that  is  eight  days  old  shall  be 
circumcised  among  you  ;  "  and,  "  The  uncircumcised  man-child 
shall  be  cut  off  from  his  people."  The  answer  to  questionings 
of  a  similar  purport,  in  regard  to  infant  baptism,  is  substantially 
the  same,  —  the  ordinance  of  God  requiring  us  to  baptize  our 
children.     Nor  is  the  rational  ground  for  the  circumcision  of 


INFANT  CITIZENSHIP.  299 

the  child  in  the  family  of  Abraham,  and  its  baptism  in  the 
Christian  household,  unsound  or  obscure.  We  may  find  an 
analogy  in  the  structure  of  human  society. 

The  law  of  the  land  meets  the  free-born  child  at  the  entrance 
gate  of  life.  At  the  moment  of  his  birth  he  becomes,  to  the 
most  important  of  all  intents  and  purposes,  a  citizen  of  the 
commonwealth.  The  whole  power  of  the  state,  even  its  magis- 
tracy, police,  military  force,  and  instruments  of  punishment,  are 
pledged,  in  the  sight  of  all  men,  to  the  protection  of  the  person, 
estate,  inchoate  liberty,  and  happiness  of  that  helpless  child. 
To  take  away  his  property  illegally  is  a  fraud ;  to  steal  his 
property,  or  to  kidnap  his  person,  is  a  felony ;  and  to  kill  him 
wantonly  is  a  capital  crime.  Let  it  be  imagined  that  some  mark 
in  the  flesh,  or  some  application  of  water  to  liis  person,  should, 
by  the  law  of  the  land,  be  made  the  sign  of  his  citizenship  and 
the  guaranty  of  his  rights:  would  it  be  reasonable  to  withhold 
this  sign  from  him  until  he  shall  reach  the  age  of  twenty-one  ? 
Should  it  not  rather  be  applied  at  the  time  when  he  begins  life, 
and  with  life  his  citizenship  ?  Now,  it  pleased  God  to  follow 
that  rule  in  his  spiritual  kingdom.  At  the  moment  of  his  birth 
into  the  family  of  Abraham,  the  child  became  an  heir  of  the 
everlasting  covenant,  a  member  of  the  Church  of  God.  He  was 
of  the  stock  from  which  should  proceed  nations,  and  kings,  and 
priests,  and  prophets,  and  apostles,  and  martyrs,  of  whom  the 
world  was  not  worthy.  Above  all,  he  came  into  the  race  in 
wdiieh  the  Lord  of  glory,  in  the  fulness  of  time,  became  incar- 
nate. As  the  sign  of  his  birthright,  he  received  an  indelible 
mark  at  the  age  of  eight  days.  So  also  in  the  Christian  Church. 
The  child  of  believing  parents  is  in  that  respect  within  the 
covenant  of  promise.  In  token  thereof  he  is  to  be  baptized 
without  unnecessary  delay,  in  token  of  an  ingrafting  into  Christ, 
of  regeneration,  of  the  remission  of  sins,  and  of  everlasting  life. 
No  reason  can  be  given  for  withholding  this  ordinance  from  him 
until  he  professes  faith  in  Christ  at  the  age  of  ten  or  twenty  or 
fifty ;  no  reason,  that  is  to  say,  that  does  not  impugn  infant 
circumcision  in  the  Old-Testament  Church ;  no  reason  that 
would  not  forbid  a  free-born  child  to  receive  a  guaranty  of  his 


800  SACRED  HISTORY. 

citizenship  until  he  is  old  enough  to  take  the  oath  of  alle- 
giance. 

Professor  H.  Ewald  of  Gottingen  liad  but  a  feeble  sense  of 
the  spiritual  meaning  of  the  Abrahamic  covenant,  but  his  fine 
historical  insight  led  him  into  a  course  of  thought  in  regard  to 
circumcision,  which  applies  in  full  force  to  infant  baptism. 
"Circumcision,"  he  held,  "was  the  symbol  of  consecration  for 
entrance  into  the  community  of  Jehovah.  Its  meaning  is  ex- 
tended far  beyond  its  corporeal  signification.  It  becomes  itself 
sanctified,  a  sacrament.  It  furnished  an  image  of  the  higher 
purity  which  the  whole  people  of  Israel  felt  they  possessed  by 
the  side  of  other  nations.  The  benefits  of  the  community  of 
the  true  God  are  not  imparted  for  the  first  time  at  the  four- 
teenth, or  the  twelfth,  or  the  seventh  year  of  their  age."  S])eak- 
ing  further  of  circumcision  he  says,  "  It  was  also  well  for  the 
child,  when  it  began  to  be  self-conscious,  to  be  always  met  by 
an  image  of  the  good  which  had  been  thought,  vowed,  and  done 
for  it,  before  it  had  any  consciousness.  It  is  well  again  for 
adults  to  recognize  the  child  as  always  partaking,  as  far  as  possi- 
ble for  it,  in  every  right  and  duty  of  the  community."  ^  The 
learned  author  could  have  said  nothing  more  appropriate  if  he 
had  been  treating  of  the  sacrament  of  baptism,  and  the  rights 
in  it  of  the  children  of  believers. 

It  ought  not  to  be  forgotten  that  one-half  of  the  members  of 
the  Old-Testament  Church  were  little  children.  Their  church- 
membership,  and  the  token  thereof,  were  secured  to  them  by 
the  covenant  with  their  father  Abraham.  These  were  religious 
rights  which  they  had  enjoyed  unchallenged  through  all  the 
generations.  By  no  word  of  Christ  or  his  apostles  were  the 
children  shut  out  of  the  New-Testament  Church,  or  deprived  of 
baptism,  the  new  sign  of  church-membershi]3.  In  the  language 
of  Lightfoot,  "  There  was  need  of  a  plain  and  open  prohibition 
against  the  baptism  of  infants,  if  our  Saviour  would  not  have 
them  baptized."  "  His  silence,  and  the  silence  of.  Scripture,  on 
this  matter,  confirms  pedobaptism,  and  continueth  to  all  ages."  ^ 
The  apostles  went  everywhere  preaching  the  gospel,  and  baj^tiz- 

1  Ewald:  Antiq.  of  Israel,  pp.  95,  96.  2  Lightfoot:  Works,  vol.  ii.  59. 


RESULTS   OF  NOT  BAPTIZING  INFANTS.  301 

ing  tlieir  converts.  Their  refusal  to  baptize  the  children  of 
believers,  if  declared  and  persisted  in,  if  defended  in  sermons 
repudiating  pedobaptism,  would  have  awakened  universal  sur- 
prise. This  new  doctrine  would,  it  is  almost  certain,  have 
called  forth  from  the  Jewish  converts  remonstrances  such  as 
these:  "The  covenant  with  Abraham  is  everlasting,  and  it 
embraces  little  children  ;  when  has  the  Almighty  revoked  that 
benefit?  Have  our  children  lost  their  spiritual  rights  under 
the  covenant,  that  they  must  be  deprived  of  its  seal?  Christ 
came,  so  we  are  assured,  to  enlarge  and  multiply  the  privileges 
of  the  sons  of  God ;  when  and  where  has  he  narrowed  down  the 
already  narrow  institutes  of  old  Judaism,  taking  away  what  we 
bad  before  he  came,  instead  of  giving  more  and  more  ?  Peter 
at  the  Day  of  Pentecost  urged  the  multitude  to  be  baptized,  on 
the  ground  that  the  promise  is  unto  us  and  to  our  children ;  and 
now,  beliold !  we  are  told  that  the  baptism  which  was  offered  to 
us  is  denied  to  our  children.  Jesus  said  of  our  little  ones, 
'  Their  angels  do  always  behold  the  face  of  my  Father  which  is 
in  heaven ; '  but  now  we  hear  that  they  are  no  nearer  to  the 
Saviour  than  the  children  of  the  heathen.  Where  is  the  better 
covenant,  founded  on  better  promises,  that  ye  spake  of?"  The 
Gentile  Christians  also  would,  in  the  refusal  of  baptism  to  their 
infant  children,  have  had  their  grievance:  "Paul  has  taught  the 
Corinthian  Church  that  the  faith  of  a  believing*  parent  makes 
the  children  holy,  consecrated  to  the  service  of  God  (1  Cor.  vii. 
14)  :  wherefore,  then,  should  the  outward  sign  of  consecration  be 
withheld  from  them  ?  "  Moreover,  the  unbelieving  Jews  stand- 
ing by  Avould  have  somewhat  to  say :  "  These  apostles,  so  called, 
teach  customs  which  it  is  not  lawful  for  us  to  receive.  They  re- 
fuse to  circumcise  the  little  children  of  their  sect ;  professing  that 
they  are  commanded  not  to  circumcise  but  to  baptize,  they  will 
not  even  baptize  these  children.  Declaring  that  the  Abrahamic 
covenant  is  of  perpetual  obligation,  they  disregard  its  provisions 
for  the  children,  treating  them  as  aliens  and  strangers."  It  is 
safe  to  assume,  in  the  case  supposed,  that  such  remonstrances 
would  have  been  drawn  from  Christian  parents,  and  such  taunts 
would  have  fallen  from  the  unbelieving  world.     The  absence  in 


302  SACRED  U I  STORY. 

the  records  of  any  trace  of  such  remonstrances  and  taunts  re- 
mains to  be  accounted  for  on  the  assumption  that  infant  baptism 
was  not  an  ordinance  of  the  primitive  Church,  and  was  per- 
emptorily denied  to  the  children  of  believers. 

If  any  one  asks  a  reason  for  the  silent  introduction  of  such 
a  change  as  that  from  circumcision  to  baptism,  the  answer  is 
at  hand,  and  may  well  be  stated  as  this  chapter  closes.  The 
Lord  Jesus  was  careful  to  avoid  all  needless  disturbance  of 
the  feelings  of  the  Jews.  Whatever  changes  it  was  necessar}'- 
to  make  in  the  methods  of  administering  the  affairs  of  his 
kingdom,  he  preferred  to  make  quietly  and  without  causing 
agitation.  Therefore,  instead  of  exasperating  the  Jews  by 
expressly  abrogating  the  Passover,  and  the  seventh-day  sab- 
bath, and  circumcision,  he  quietly  instituted,  or  caused  to  be 
instituted,  the  Lord's  Supper,  and  the  Lord's  Day,  and  baptism, 
and  provided  for  their  quietly  and  gradually  taking  the  places, 
respectively,  of  the  others.  And  the  change  being  made,  from 
circumcision  as  a  seal  of  the  covenant,  to  baptism  as  a  seal  of 
the  same,  it  was  sure  to  go  without  saying,  as  it  obviously  did 
go,  that  the  seal  should  be  applied  to  those  to  whom  the 
promise  came,  viz.,  "unto  you  and  your  children"  (Acts  ii.  39). 


THE  JEUOVAU-ANGEL.  303 


CHAPTER  XXI. 

CHRIST   IN   THE   COVENANT. 

A  THREEFOLD  revelation  respecting  Jesus  Christ  is  made  in 
the  historical  development  of  the  Abrahamic  covenant.  The 
Angel-Jehovah  was  a  manifestation  of  Christ's  Divine  person- 
ality ;  Melchizedek  was  a  type  of  his  office  as  king  and  high 
priest ;  and  the  offering  of  Isaac  was  a  symbol  of  his  atoning 
work. 

I.  In  the  Pentateuch,  and  throughout  the  later  scriptures, 
repeated  mention  is  made  of  a  Being  distinct  from  Jehovah  in 
his  person,  who  yet  bears  the  name,  claims  the  prerogatives, 
and  accepts  the  homage,  wdiich  belong  only  to  the  Almighty. 
The  distinctive  name  of  this  being  is,  in  the  Hebrew,  3Ial-ahch, 
and  its  equivalent  is  the  Jehovah-Angel.  The  Church,  at  least 
since  the  Reformation,  has  generally  held  that  the  Jehovah- 
Angel  was  the  Son  of  God.  The  proof  of  this  doctrine  is 
briefly  as  follows :  (1)  The  Angel  of  Jehovah  is  called  inter- 
changeably Jehovah,  Lord,  God,  and  the  Angel  of  God.  In 
Gen.  xvi.  the  Angel  of  Jehovah  is  represented  as  appearing  to 
Hagar  in  the  wilderness,  and  him  she  calls  God :  "  Thou  God 
seest  me."  In  the  same  chapter,  the  sacred  \vriter  speaks  of 
him  four  several  times  as  the  Angel  of  Jehovah,  and  twice  as 
Jehovah.  In  Gen.  xxii.  we  read  that  he  who  commanded 
Abraham  to  slay  Isaac  was  God ;  he  who  arrested  the  patri- 
arch's arm  and  knife  at  the  moment  of  immolation  was  the 
Angel  of  Jehovah ;  and  he  who  uttered  the  oath  of  blessing 
WHS  Jehovah,  —  three  Divine  names  given  almost  simultane- 
ously to  the  same  person.  The  being  with  whom  Jacob 
wrestled  at  the  River  Jabbok  was,  according  to  Hosea,  God, 


304  SACEED  niSTOIiY. 

the  Lord  God  of  hosts,  Jehovah,  and  an  angel ;  but  Jacob 
called  him  God,  saying,  "  I  have  seen  God  face  to  face  "  (Gen. 
xxxii.  30;  Hos.  xii.  3-6).  The  Angel  of  Jehovah  who  appeared 
to  Moses  in  the  bush,  Jehovah  whose  eye  was  on  Moses  when 
he  turned  aside  to  see  the  great  sight,  and  God  who  called  to 
him  out  of  the  flame,  were  one  and  the  same  person  (Exod. 
iii.).  At  the  exodus  God  led  the  people  out  of  Egypt ; 
Jehovah  went  before  them  in  the  pillar  of  cloud  and  of  fire  ; 
the  Angel  of  God  was  in  the  cloud ;  and  Jehovah  looked 
through  the  pillar  upon  the  Egyptians,  and  directed  Moses  to 
stretch  out  his  hand  over  the  sea  (Exod.  xiii.,  xiv.).  .  In  the 
narrative  of  Gideon's  vision,  the  Angel  of  Jehovah  is  identified 
with  the  Angel  of  God,  with  the  Lord  God,  and  with  Jehovah. 
Gideon  said,  "  Alas,  O  Lord  God  I  for  because  I  have  seen  an 
angel  of  Jehovah  face  to  face."  And  Jehovah  said  unto  him, 
"  Peace  be  unto  thee ;  fear  not ;  thou  shalt  not  die ''  ( Judg. 
vi.  22,  23).  The  story  of  Manoah  (Judg.  xiii.)  applies  the 
five  titles  to  the  same  Divine  Being,  —  the  Angel  of  Jehovah, 
Angel  of  God,  Jehovah,  Lord,  and  God.  The  Jehovah- Angel, 
therefore,  was  the  uncreated  God. 

(2)  This  Being  claimed  and  exercised  the  Divine  preroga- 
tives. To  Hagar  he  gave  promise  that  he  would  multiply  her 
seed  exceedingly.  Of  Ishmael  he  said,  "  I  will  make  of  him 
a  great  nation."  At  the  sacrifice  of  Isaac  this  Angel  arrested 
the  hand  of  Abraham  raised  to  slay  his  son,  and  promised,  with 
an  oath,  to  bless  the  patriarch,  to  multiply  his  posterit}'  as  the 
stars  and  the  sands,  and  in  his  seed  to  bless  all  nations  (Gen. 
xxii.).  Such  promises  proceed  not  from  created  angels,  but 
from  God  only. 

(3)  He  accepted  holy  adoration.  When  Hagar  said  to  the 
Angel  of  the  Lord,  "  Thou  God  seest  me,"  he  did  not  rebuke 
her  (Gen.  xvi.).  At  the  bush  Moses  hid  his  face,  "for  he  was 
afraid  to  look  upon  God."  To  Abraham,  at  the  altar  of  Isaac, 
the  Angel  of  Jehovah  said,  "  Now  I  know  thou  fearest  God, 
seeing  thou  hast  not  withheld  thy  son,  thine  only  son,  from 
me."  Hosea  remarks  that  Jacob  "  had  power  over  the  angel, 
and   prevailed;   he  wept,  and   made  supplication   unto  him." 


JEHOVAH,    GOD   OF  HOSTS.  305 

He  was  not  a  created  angel,  but  tlie  Lord  God  of  hosts.  Of 
these  many  testimonies  this  is  the  sum :  Tlie  name  Jehovah- 
Angel  is  used  by  the  sacred  writers  interchangeably  with 
other  Divine  appellations,  including  the  incommunicable  name 
Jehovah.  He  relies  on  no  Divine  commission,  but  speaks  and 
acts  as  if  lie  were  the  Ruler  of  the  universe,  and  the  covenant 
God  of  Israel ;  he  controls  the  destinies  of  men  and  of  nations  ; 
he  assumes,  as  belonging  to  himself.  Divine  honor  and  majesty ; 
he  hears  and  answers  prayer,  and  accepts  worsliip  at  the  altar, 
even  the  sacrifice  of  Isaac,  as  an  offering  made  directly  to  him- 
self. No  created  being  was  that  Angel :  he  was  the  Lord  God 
of  hosts. 

(4)  The  link  that  connects  the  Jehovah-Angel  with  the  Lord 
Jesus  is  supplied  by  jNIalachi :  "  Behold,  I  will  send  my  mes- 
senger, and  he  shall  prepare  the  way  before  me :  and  the  Lord 
whom  ye  seek  shall  suddenly  come  to  his  temple,  even  the 
messenger  of  the  covenant,  whom  ye  delight  in  ;  behold,  he 
shall  come,  saith  Jehovah  of  hosts"  (Mai.  iii.  1).  The  advent 
of  the  two  messengers  or  angels  {Ileb.,  3Ial-ahch)  is  predicted 
here.  One  is  the  iVngel  of  the  covenant,  who  is  also  the  Lord 
of  the  temple  ;  the  other  is  liis  forerunner.  These  words  are 
explained  by  our  Lord  himself  in  Matt.  xi.  10.  He  declares 
that  the  forerunner  is  John  the  Baptist.  By  necessary  impli- 
cations the  other  is  identified  with  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  the 
Angel  of  the  covenant,  and  the  Lord  suddenly  apjiearing  in 
the  temple  of  which  he  is  the  Sovereign.  A  most  authoritative 
declaration  this  is  of  the  identity  of  the  Angel  of  the  covenant 
with  Jesus  Christ. 

We  come  here  upon  a  ready  answer  to  the  suggestion  that 
the  Angel  of  Jehovah  is  a  Divine  J3eing,  but  he  is  in  all 
respects,  in  person  as  well  as  substance,  identical  with  Jehovah 
himself,  in  nothing  two,  in  all  things  one.  To  this  the  reply 
may  well  be,  that,  in  the  Old  Testament,  we  are  specifically 
and  diligently  taught  that  Jehovah  and  the  Jehovah-Angel 
were  the  same  in  substance,  and  in  the  New  Testament  our 
Saviour  declares  that  they  are  distinct  in  person.  We  have 
here  an   instance  of  the  progressive  character  of  the  Divine 


306  SACRED  BISTORT. 

revelation.  Upon  an  examination  of  the  whole  testimony  we 
may  safely  conclude,  with  Vitringa,  that  he  who  in  the  history 
of  the  pati'iarchs  and  judges  is  the  Angel  of  Jehovah,  who  in 
the  wilderness  is  the  Angel  of  God's  presence,  or  the  Angel 
of  his  face  (Isa.  Ixiii.  9),  who  in  the  last  of  the  prophets  is 
the  Angel  of  the  covenant,  —  the  same  Person  is  revealed  in  the 
New  Testament  as  the  brightness  of  the  Father's  glory  and 
the  express  image  of  his  person  (Heb.  i.  3),  the  image  of  the 
invisible  God  (2  Cor.  iv.  4;  Col.  i.  15),  in  whose  face  the  glory 
of  God  shines  (2  Cor.  iv.  6),  and  in  whom  dwelleth  all  the 
fulness  of  the  Godhead  bodily  (Col.  ii.  9).^ 

II.  (Gen.  xiv.)  Melchizedek  is  set  forth  by  the  sacred 
writers  as  an  historical  type  of  Jesus  Christ  in  his  offices  of 
king  and  priest  of  the  most  high  God.  The  sense  of  the  mys- 
terious which  is  awakened  by  the  mention  of  this  venerable 
name  lies  not  so  much  in  his  personality  as  in  his  typical  rela- 
tion. In  respect  to  his  ]3erson  it  may  be  confidently  said  that 
he  was  not,  as  many  have  thought,  a  temporary  incarnation  of 
the  Son  of  God,  or  an  angel,  or  Shem  or  Enoch  or  Job,  or  any 
other  patriarch  risen  from  the  dead.  He  was  a  man,  a  con- 
temporary of  Abraham,  and  the  sheik  or  king  of  the  city  of 
Salem.  He  was,  moreover,  a  priest  of  the  most  high  God,  one 
of  the  last  of  the  holy  men  who,  like  Enoch  and  Noah,  were 
witnesses  of  the  truth  and  worshippers  of  Jehovah  in  the  period 
of  universalism  which  went  before  the  establishment  of  par- 
ticularism in  the  family  of  Abraham.  Neither  the  sacred  rec- 
ord nor  contemporaneous  tradition  informs  us  whether  he  was 
a  Canaanite  or  a  Shemite,  who  were  his  parents  or  kindred,  or 
when  he  was  born  and  died.  He  appears  on  the  field  of  history 
and  soon  vanishes,  like  a  great  light  suddenly  flashing  out  of 
the  darkness  of  heathenism,  and  suddenly  quenched.  Heng- 
stenberg  remarks  that  he  "  stands  severed  from  national  devel- 
opment as  a  wonder  in  the  midst  of  the  apostate  world."  He 
is  chiefly  wonderful  because,  although  not  of  the  promised 
seed,  he  was  chosen  of  God  to  stand  as  the  type  of  the  Lord 
Jesus  Christ :  "  The  Lord  hath  said  unto  my  Lord,  The  Lord 
1  Alexander,  Isa.  Ixiii,  9. 


ORDER   OF  MELCHIZEDEK.  307 

bath  sworn,  and  will  not  repent,  Thou  art  a  priest  forever  after 
the  order  of  Melchizedek  "  (Ps.  ex.  1,  4).  The  wonder  grows 
when  we  remember  that  his  name  is  not  mentioned  from  iNIoses 
to  David,  who  records  the  oath,  nor  is  it  mentioned  again  from 
David  to  Paul.  Paul  expounds  the  oath,  and  points  out  the 
typical  relation  of  Melchizedek  to  the  Lord  Jesus  (Heb.  vii.). 

(1)  Melchizedek,  so  Moses  observes,  was  "king  of  Salem,  and 
the  priest  of  the  most  high  God,"  both  king  and  priest  (Gen. 
xiv.  18).  Christ,  by  virtue  of  the  Divine  oath,  became  a  royal 
Priest  after  the  same  order.  He  was  The  BRANCH  of  Zecha- 
riah,  bearing  the  glory  of  Jehovah,  sitting  or  ruling  upon  his 
throne,  being  a  Priest  upon  his  throne  (Zech.  vi.  13).  (2)  Mel- 
chizedek was  a  righteous  and  peaceful  king,  —  the  king  of 
righteousness  and  the  prince  of  peace  (Heb.  vii.  2).  As  such  he 
was  the  type  of  Him  who  is  in  the  supreme  sense  the  "  Prince 
of  peace  "  (Isa.  ix.  6),  and  who  effects  our  peace  with  God  by 
the  exercise  of  his  offices  of  King  and  Priest.  (3)  The  king 
of  Salem  was  not  of  the  Levitical  order.  He  lived  four  hun- 
dred years  before  that  order  was  created.  His  name  cannot 
be  found  in  the  genealogy  of  any  sacerdotal  family  on  earth. 
Indeed,  in  contemplation  of  the  law  of  the  Levitical  priesthood 
he  "  was  without  father,  without  mother,  without  descent,  hav- 
ing neither  beginning  of  days  nor  end  of  life  "  (Heb.  vii.  3). 
The  key  to  this  problem  is  found  in  the  sixth  verse  of  the 
chapter.  Speaking  of  Melchizedek,  Paul  says  that  "  his  de- 
scent is  not  counted  from  them,"  —  the  sons  of  Levi ;  that  is 
to  say,  he  had  no  Levitical  genealogy.  None  of  Levi's  pedi- 
grees contains  the  name  of  Melchizedek,  or  the  name  of  his 
father,  or  the  name  of  his  mother,  or  the  names  of  his  ances- 
tors, or  the  date  of  his  birth,  or  the  date  of  his  death ;  they  do 
not  show  that  such  a  man  ever  lived,  or  that  he  had  any  parents 
or  ancestor,  or  that  he  was  born  and  died.  There  was,  there- 
fore, in  the  days  of  Abraham,  a  royal  priest  utterly  unknown  to 
the  Levitical  priesthood ;  and  Jesus  Christ  was  after  that  order. 
Neither  of  them  came  of  any  sacerdotal  family.  That  Jesus 
did  not,  is  evident ;  for  he  was  of  the  tribe  of  Judah,  and 
Moses  spake  nothing  which  connects  that  tribe  with  the  priest- 


308  SACRED  HISTOEY. 

hood  (Heb.  vii.  14).  The  sum  of  it  all  is,  that  neither  the 
type  nor  the  antitype  had  a  sacerdotal  pedigree.  (4)  In  the 
Aaronic  order  there  were  many  priests,  because  they  were  not 
suffered  to  continue  by  reason  of  death.  Christ  was  a  separate 
priest,  made  not  after  the  order  of  Aaron  in  which  there  were 
many,  but  after  the  order  of  Melchizedek,  in  which  there  was 
only  one.  No  priestly  father  went  before  him,  no  priestly  son 
came  after  him ;  he  was  not  a  link  in  the  chain  of  sacerdotal 
predecessors  and  successors.  Christ,  because  he  lives  forever, 
holds  a  priesthood  like  that  of  Melchizedek,  "which  passeth 
not  from  one  to  another"  (Heb.  vii.  24,  margin).  (5)  Christ's 
priesthood,  like  that  of  Melchizedek,  was  superior  to  that  of 
Aaron.  The  proof  of  this  begins  with  the  fact  that  Abraham 
acknowledged  his  inferiority  to  Melchizedek.  Abraham  paid 
tithes  to  him,  and  received  a  blessing  from  him  in  return. 
Abraham's  subordinate  position  is  established  by  the  rule  that  the 
inferior  pays  tribute  to  the  superior,  and  by  the  rule  that 
"  beyond  all  contradiction  the  less  is  blessed  of  the  better  " 
(Heb.  vii.  7).  Paul  extends  this  doctrine,  showing  that  inas- 
much as  Levi  was  in  the  loins  of  Abraham  it  may  be  said  that 
Levi  paid  tithes  to  Melchizedek  in  the  person  of  his  ancestor 
and  representative ;  and  nothing  is  better  understood  than  the 
decisive  influence  exerted  on  the  position  of  a  natural  heir  by 
the  acts  of  a  remote  progenitor.  From  this  it  follows  that 
Christ,  being  made  a  priest  after  the  order  of  one  who  was 
superior  to  Levi's  son  Aaron,  was  Aaron's  superior  in  the 
sacerdotal  office.  This  inference  was  unwelcome  to  the  He- 
brews who  read  Paul,  but  not  the  less  conclusive  for  all  that. 
(6)  Unlike  Aaron,  Melchizedek  was  competent  to  offer  gifts 
and  sacrifices  in  behalf  of  all  men  everywhere  who  worshipped 
God,  —  both  for  his  countrymen  the  Canaanites,  and  for  the 
Shemite  Abraham.  He  was  a  high  priest  at  large  ;  and  as  such 
was  a  type  of  Christ,  who  holds  a  universal  vocation,  having 
made  a  propitiation  for  the  sins  of  the  world.  (7)  No  limita- 
tion was  put  upon  Melchizedek's  term  of  service :  he  was  high 
priest  so  long  as  he  lived.  In  like  manner,  Christ's  office  of 
Priest  wiU  continue  until  the  work  of  redemption  is  finished, 


OFFERING-VP   OF  ISAAC.  309 

and  he  shall  deliver  up  the  kingdom  to  the  Father  (1  Cor.  xv. 
24;  Heb.  vii.  8).  (8)  Aaron  and  his  sons  were  put  into  office 
without  the  solemnity  of  the  Divine  oath.  But  Christ  was 
inducted  "  with  an  oath  "  by  Him  that  said  unto  him,  "  Thou 
art  a  priest  forever  after  the  order  of  Melchizedek  "  (Ps.  ex.  4; 
Heb.  vii.  23,  24).  From  the  teaching  of  the  covenant  history 
in  regard  to  the  intimate  nature  of  Christ  as  Divine,  and  to  his 
exaltation  as  a  Priest  sitting  on  his  throne,  the  transition  is 
natural  to  his  death  as  an  offering  for  sin  represented  in  the 
sacrifice  of  Isaac. 

III.  Bishop  Butler  furnishes  an  appropriate  introduction  to 
this  transaction :  "  If  it  were  commanded  to  cultivate  the  prin- 
ciples, and  act  from  the  spirit,  of  treachery,  ingratitude,  cruelty, 
the  command  would  not  alter  the  nature  of  the  case  or  action, 
in  any  of  the  instances.  But  it  is  quite  otherwise  in  precepts 
which  require  only  the  doing  an  external  action ;  for  instance, 
taking  away  the  property  or  life  of  any.  For  men  have  no 
right  to  either  life  or  property,  but  what  arises  solely  from  the 
grant  of  God :  when  this  grant  is  revoked,  they  cease  to  have 
any  right  at  all  in  either ;  and  when  the  revocation  is  made 
known,  as  surely  it  is  possible  it  may  be,  it  must  cease  to  be 
unjust  to  deprive  them  of  either."  ^  Bishop  Butler's  position 
is,  no  doubt,  impregnable.  It  raises,  however,  the  question 
whether  Abraham  held  a  sufficient  Divine  warrant  to  offer  up 
Isaac  as  a  burnt-sacrifice.  In  reply  to  this  question  it  may 
be  said,  first,  that  the  command  was  intelligible  and  explicit. 
It  was  addressed  directly  to  Abraham :  "  God  said  unto  him, 
Abraham ;  and  he  said.  Here  I  am  "  (Gen.  xxii.  1).  The  thing 
to  be  done  was  described  with  distressing  amplification:  "Take 
now  thy  son,  thine  only  son  Isaac,  whom  thou  lovest,  and  get 
thee  into  the  land  of  INIoriah,  and  offer  him  there  for  a  burnt- 
offering."  The  time  was  fixed,  "  take  now ; "  and  the  place, 
"  the  land  of  Moriah  ; "  and  the  person,  "  thy  son  Isaac ;  "  and 
the  proceeding,  "  offer  him  for  a  burnt-offering."  Whilst  this 
precision  does  not  prove  that  the  communication  was  from  God, 
yet  such  precision  uniformly  enters  into  the  Divine  commands : 
1  Analogy,  Part  II.,  chap.  iii. 


310  SACRED  HISTORY. 

they  are  not  of  doubtful  interpretation.  Next,  the  message 
came  to  Abraham  through  the  medium  of  a  Divine  manifesta- 
tion to  his  senses ;  the  eighth  of  the  series  of  the  theophanies 
which  God  granted  to  him.  The  patriarch  could  not  be  mis- 
taken in  regard  to  the  signs  and  tokens  of  a  theophanic  reve- 
lation ;  the  sound  of  God's  voice  was  no  less  familiar  than  the 
voice  of  Sarah  or  Isaac.  Again,  the  test  to  which  God  brought 
his  faith  and  obedience  was  in  the  line  of  his  lifelong  religious 
experience.  The  leading  trial  which  he  endured  for  twenty- 
five  years,  turned  on  his  condition  as  an  old  man,  childless, 
condemned,  according  to  the  course  of  nature,  to  perpetual 
childlessness;  and  yet,  all  along,  he  embraced  an  outstanding 
promise  of  a  son  to  be  born  to  him  in  his  marriage  with  Sarah. 
He  was  left  to  try  various  expedients,  one  of  them  a  plural 
marriage,  in  order  to  secure  the  promise ;  but  they  all  failed. 
At  first  he  was  required  to  believe  that,  in  spite  of  the  un- 
changeable laws  of  nature,  Isaac  should  be  born  ;  "  he  staggered 
not  at  the  promise  of  God  through  unbelief"  (Rom.  iv.  20). 
At  last  he  was  required  to  believe  that  Isaac,  in  spite  of  the 
knife  and  the  fire,  would  live  to  be  the  next  progenitor  of 
the  chosen  seed.  He  could  hardly  fail  to  believe  that  the  com- 
mand to  slay  Isaac  was  from  God,  inasmuch  as  it  took  the 
direction,  so  familiar  to  him,  of  the  Divine  plan  of  his  life. 
Finally  all  doubt,  if  doubt  there  was  in  his  bosom,  was  cleared 
up  by  the  voice  of  the  Angel  of  Jehovah,  arresting  his  arm  at 
the  moment  of  immolation.  The  mystery  in  which  the  eighth 
theophany  begins,  "  God  did  tempt  Abraham,"  was  cleared  up 
by  the  ninth,  "  Lay  not  thine  hand  on  the  lad ; "  and  again  by 
the  tenth,  in  which  God  swore  by  himself  to  reward  his  servant 
by  a  blessing  on  him  personally,  on  his  posterity,  and  on  all  the 
nations  of  the  earth,  because  he  had  obeyed  God's  voice. 

A  conjecture,  if  it  be  reasonable,  in  respect  to  the  state  of 
Abraham's  mind  and  conscience,  may  throw  light  on  the  trans- 
action. In  the  days  of  Moses,  the  Canaanites  sacrificed  their 
children  to  their  idols.  Moses  says,  "  For  even  their  sons  and 
their  daughters  they  have  burnt  in  the  fire  of  their  gods" 
(Deut.  xii.  31 ;  Ps.  cvi.  37).     It  is  proper  to  assume  that  at  an 


IDEAS   OF  PATERNITY.  311 

earlier  period  Abraham  saw  the  "sons  and  daughters  of  the 
Canaanites  passing  through  fire ; "  "  the  first  born  for  their 
transgressions,  the  fruit  of  the  body  for  the  sin  of  the  souL" 
And  it  may  have  seemed  to  Abraham  that  if  the  heathen  were 
resolute  enough  to  give  their  children  to  Moloch,  he  ought  to 
be  able  to  offer  up  his  son,  even  his  only  son,  at  the  command 
of  the  .Almighty  ;  otherwise  it  might  be  said  that  a  servant  of 
the  only  living  and  true  God  had  come  behind  his  idolatrous 
neighbors  in  holy  obedience.  Moreover,  the  thought  of  the 
ancient  mind  the  world  over  was,  that  the  son  was  the  property 
of  the  father,  and  the  wife  the  property  of  the  husband.  The 
wife  and  children  were  personally  identified  with  the  head  of 
the  family,  just  as  the  flesh  and  bones  and  blood  are  held 
together  in  the  unity  of  the  body.  "  A  man,"  say  the  Laws  of 
Manu,  "is  perfect,  when  he  consists  of  himself,  his  wife,  and 
his  son."  1  UjJon  this  principle  the  whole  famil}^  of  a  criminal 
or  an  enemy  were  put  to  the  sword  with  him.  The  father, 
likewise,  had  the  power  of  life  and  death  over  the  son.  This 
rule  found  expression  in  Reuben,  when  he  said  to  his  father, 
"Slay  my  two  sons,  if  I  bring  him  [Joseph]  not  to  thee  "  (Gen. 
xlii.  37).  The  thought,  if  it  was  in  the  mind  of  Abraham, 
could  not  make  Isaac  any  the  less  dear  to  him,  or  his  struggle 
at  the  altar  the  less  bitter,  even  if  he  was  sustained  both  by  a 
sense  of  obligation  to  obey  God,  and  by  his  right  as  a  father 
to  dispose  of  the  life  of  his  son.  Abraham  could  not  love  Isaac 
the  less  because  the  lad  was  at  his  mercy,  but  he  loved  God 
more. 

Abraham's  further  persuasion  was  that  God  would,  in  some 
way,  spare  the  life  of  Isaac.  A  dim  presentiment  to  that  effect 
appears  in  what  he  said  to  his  servants  at  the  slope  of  the  moun- 
tain, "  Abide  ye  here  with  the  ass ;  and  I  and  the  lad  will  go 
yonder  and  worship,  and  come  again  to  you ; "  ^  and  in  what 
he  said  to  Isaac,  "  God  will  himself  provide  a  lamb  for  a  burnt- 
offering."  This  hope,  if  at  first  only  a  presentiment,  very  soon 
became  an  assurance ;  for  by  faith  "  he  accounted  that  God  was 
able  to  raise  his  son  from  the  dead,"  and  that  he  would  raise 

1  Mozley:  Ruling  Ideas,  p.  37. 


312  SACBED  ni STORY. 

him  from  the  dead.  That  was  his  solution  of  the  problem,  of 
which  one  condition  was  the  Divine  promise  that  Isaac  should 
live  to  become  the  father  of  many  nations,  the  other  condition 
being,  that  before  the  sun  went  down  Isaac  should  be  slain,  and 
his  body  reduced  to  ashes.  In  the  gift  of  a  Divine  inspiration, 
revealing  to  him  the  resurrection  of  the  dead,  ai  :1  in  a  faith  not 
less  Divine  than  inspiration,  the  wonderful  old  man  found  rest 
for  his  laboring  heart  and  conscience.  The  sentiments  that 
ruled  the  hour  were  parental  tenderness,  the  total  denial  of  self, 
the  spirit  of  unquestioning  obedience  to  God,  and  faith  in  the 
purpose  and  power  of  God  to  make  good  his  word. 

This  transaction  calls  attention  to  the  Divine  command  re- 
quiring Abraham  to  offer  Isaac  for  a  burnt-offering,  to  the 
Divine  command  arresting  the  immolation,  and  to  the  honest 
intention  of  the  patriarch  at  the  moment.  A  broad  distinction 
is  to  be  taken  between  what  God  required  Abraham  to  under- 
take, and  what  God  had  resolved  that  he  himself  would  do. 
He  required  the  patriarch,  on  his  part,  to  offer  up  Isaac ;  God 
resolved,  for  his  own  part,  to  interpose  at  the  decisive  moment, 
and  to  save  the  life  of  the  lad.  Kurtz  suggests,  that,  in  the 
case  of  any  other  than  God,  this  would  have  been  a  dangerous 
experiment:  not  so  in  God,  who  held  the  issue  in  his  own 
hands.  Turning  now  to  Abraham,  when  "he  stretched  forth 
his  hand,  and  took  the  knife  to  slay  his  son,"  we  may  say  that 
it  was  undeniably  his  intention  to  offer  up  Isaac.  The  convic- 
tion that  God  was  able  to  raise  his  son  from  the  dead  did  not 
hinder  —  it  strengthened,  rather  —  his  purpose  to  put  him  to 
death.  He  surrendered  his  son  to  the  will  of  God  in  good  faith, 
without  delay,  hesitation,  or  reserve,  silencing  the  sobbings  of 
paternal  love,  offering  no  plea  for  the  lad  or  for  Sarah  or  him- 
self. In  his  own  inward  and  thorough  purpose,  the  sacrifice 
was  complete,  although  the  offering  did  not  pass  over  into  an 
actual  sacrifice  of  blood  and  fire.  If  ever  there  was  an  instance 
in  which  the  purpose  to  do  any  thing  was  equivalent  to  the 
doing  of  it,  such  an  instance  is  before  us.  Our  Saviour  extends 
this  general  doctrine,  showing  that  the  unchaste  desire  —  and 
desire  goes  before  intention  —  carries  with  it  the  guilt  of  the 


TUB  COMMAND   OBEYED.  313 

overt  act  (Matt.  v.  28).  Even  so,  the  actual  slaughter  of  Isaac, 
and  the  burning  of  his  dead  body,  would  have  added  nothing  to 
Abraham's  resolve  to  part  with  what  was  dearest  to  him  at  this 
command  of  God,  nothing  to  the  fulness  of  his  holy  obedience, 
nothing  to  the  heroism  of  his  self-crucifixion.  His  sufferings 
were  over  when  he  raised  the  knife,  and  to  him  the  boy  was  as 
good  as  dead.  It  is  of  the  utmost  importance  here  to  observe 
that  God  accepted  what  his  servant  had  done,  as  a  substantial 
compliance  with  his  requisition.  The  Angel  Jehovah  prohibited 
Abraham  from  laying  his  hand  upon  the  lad ;  "  for,"  said  he, 
"  now  I  know  that  thou  fearest  God,  seeing  thou  hast  not  with' 
held  thy  son,  thine  only  son,  from  me."  The  Divine  Being  went 
still  further,  and  made  the  act  the  basis  of  an  oath  of  benedic- 
tion :  "  By  myself  have  I  sworn,  saith  Jehovah,  for  because  thou 
hast  do7ie  this  tiling.,  and  hast  not  withheld  thy  son,  thine  only 
son,  that  in  blessing  I  will  bless  thee,"  etc.  To  the  same  effect 
is  the  testimony  of  the  Holy  Spirit  through  Paul,  saying,  "  By 
faith  Abraham  when  he  was  tried  offered  up  Isaac,  and  he  that 
had  received  the  promises  offered  up  his  only  begotten  son  "  (Heb. 
xi.  17).  Putting  together  the  not  withheld,  twice  uttered  by 
the  Angel  Jehovah  ;  "  Thou  hast  done  this  thing,'"  the  words  of  the 
angel ;  and  the  offered  up,  twice  used  by  the  Holy  Spirit  through 
Paul,  —  we  have  the  highest  possible  authority  for  saying  that 
the  Almighty  accepted  the  act  of  Abraham  as  a  complete  obla- 
tion. To  the  full  extent  of  the  sense  which  God  gave  to  the  com- 
mand, the  patriarch  did  not  withhold,  but  offered  up,  the  lad. 
Taking  the  will  for  the  deed,  accepting  the  intention  to  make 
the  offering,  as  in  itself  an  offering,  Jehovah  rescued  the  victim, 
in  token  that  his  command  had  been  substantially  obeyed. 

The  significance  of  this  transaction  is  not  exhausted  when 
treated  as  an  act  of  faith  and  holy  obedience.  It  is  most 
memorable  as  illustrative  of  the  gospel,  and  is  therefore  a  part 
of  the  Christology  of  the  Abrahamic  covenant.  It  should  be 
premised,  however,  that  Isaac  and  his  sacrifice  are  not  set  forth 
in  Scripture  as  types  of  Christ  and  his  death  on  the  cross. 
According  to  a  widely  accepted  definition,  a  type  is  a  person 
or  thing  in  the  Old  Testament  divinely  appointed  to  represent 


314  SACRED  HISTORY. 

a  person  or  thing  in  the  New-Testament  history.  It  is  a 
species  of  inspired  prophecy,  a  prediction  set  forth  in  an  object- 
lesson.  Whoever  or  whatever  in  the  Old  Testament  is,  in 
terms,  or  by  good  and  necessary  conclusion,  declared  in  the 
New  Testament  to  be  a  type,  is  to  be  accepted  as  such; 
nothing  else  is  entitled  to  that  distinction.  Thus  Adam  as  the 
federal  head  of  his  posterity,  and  David  as  the  king  in  Zion, 
Melchizedek  as  king  and  priest,  are  in  the  New  Testament  set 
forth  as  types  of  Christ ;  so  also  are  the  serpent  in  the  wilder- 
ness, the  manna,  the  smitten  rock,  and,  conspicuously,  the 
office  of  high  priest,  and  the  atonement  which  he  offered  for  sin. 
But  no  typical  relation  is  anywhere  authoritatively  established 
between  Isaac  and  Christ.  Perhaps  an  explanation  is  to  be 
found  in  a  suggestion  that  the  sacrifice  of  Isaac  was  not  pro- 
pitiatory, but  simply  and  specifically  a  test  of  faith  and  obedi- 
ence, while  the  death  of  Christ  was  specifically  and  emphatically 
a  vicarious  atonement  for  sin.^  Whether  or  not  this  suggestion 
be  accepted,  the  fact  itself  remains  of  the  non-typical  position 
of  Isaac.  But  the  resemblances  between  the  offering  made  in 
his  person,  and  the  death  of  Christ,  are  obvious  and  instructive. 
1.  To  begin  with,  the  first  step  was  now  taken  towards  the 
prohibition  of  human  sacrifices.  The  heathen  burned  their  sons 
and  their  daughters  in  the  fire  to  their  gods,  to  expiate  crime, 
or  to  avert  the  wrath  of  their  deities,  or  to  secure  their  favor 
in  important  enterprises.  By  way  of  prohibiting  this  unnatural 
crime,  the  Jehovah-Angel  uttered  his  peremptory  command  to 
Abraham,  "  Lay  not  thine  hand  upon  the  lad,  neither  do  thou 
any  thing  to  him."  In  due  time  the  Mosaic  law  denounced 
human  sacrifices  as  an  "abomination  which  Jehovah  hates," 
and  ordained  that  any  Israelite  or  foreigner  in  Israel  guilty  of 
the  offence  should  surely  be  put  to  death.  Not  only  were  these 
inhuman  rites  cast  out  of  the  worship  of  the  Church  forever, 
but  the  people  were  required  to  publish  abroad  their  reproba- 
tion of  the  crime  by  stoning  the  criminal  (Lev.  xx.  2 ;  Deut. 
xii.  31).  Ewald  describes  Abraham  as  "the  greatest  hero  of 
faith,"  and  remarks  that  "  the  highest  trial  of  faith  ends  with 
1  Mozley,  Ruling  Ideas,  p.  74.    Milman,  History  of  the  Jews,  vol.  i.  p.  23. 


SUBSTITUTION  AND   SELF-SACRIFICE.  315 

the  gain  of  a  new  and  great  truth,  that  Jehovah  does  not  desire 
human  sacrifices."  ^ 

2.  The  animal  provided  by  the  Almighty  for  Isaac's  release 
sets  forth  the  principle  of  substitution,  and  its  ground  in  the 
Divine  ordinances.  Whether  Isaac's  sacrifice  was,  properly 
speaking,  expiatory,  or  simply  a  test  of  faith,  it  remains  true 
that  an  acceptable  victim  was  put  in  the  place  of  the  man 
doomed  to  die ;  the  lesser  in  dignity  was  taken  for  the  greater, 
the  animal  for  the  son.  Substitution  enters  as  an  essential 
element  into  the  Mosaic  ritual.  If  any  man  sins,  the  priest  is 
directed  to  offer  for  him  a  lamb  for  a  sin-offering  ;  and  so  "  the 
priest  shall  make  atonement  for  his  sin  which  he  hath  com- 
mitted, and  it  shall  be  forgiven  him  "  (Lev.  iv.  35).  And 
substitution  was  one  of  the  broad  characteristics  of  the  death 
of  Christ :  "  In  due  time  Christ  died  for  the  ungodly." 

3.  Abraham  relinquished  the  best  and  dearest  of  all  that  he 
had,  when  he  offered  up  Isaac.  So  also  did  the  Almighty. 
The  words  of  God,  "  Take  now  thy  son,  thine  only  son  Isaac, 
whom  thou  lovest,  and  offer  him  for  a  burnt-offering,"  are 
almost  repeated  in  a  verbal  echo  in  John,  "  God  so  loved  the 
world  that  he  gave  his  only  begotten  Son." 

4.  There  is  a  good  and  sound  sense  in  which  it  may  be  said 
that  Isaac  offered  up  himself  on  the  altar.  According  to  the 
received  chronology,  he  was  now  twenty-five  years  old.  There 
can  be  no  doubt  that  he  was  in  the  strength  of  early  manhood, 
for  he  carried  up  the  mountain  the  wood  for  the  burnt-offering. 
Although  he  could  have  successfully  resisted  any  attempt  on 
his  life,  he  freely  consented  to  be  bound  and  laid  on  the  altar ; 
"  as  a  lamb  he  opened  not  his  mouth."  In  this  he  represented 
the  self-consecration  of  Christ  to  the  sufferings  of  the  cross. 
"  He  gave  himself  for  us."  Christ  said,  "  Abraham  saw  my 
day,  and  was  glad."  Through  the  vision  of  inspiration  he  be- 
held the  day  when  what  he  and  Isaac  had  done  —  he  in  the 
offering-up  of  his  son,  Isaac  in  consenting  to  the  sacrifice  — 
should  pass  over  into  the  unspeakable  gift  which  God  made  of 
his  Son,  and  which  his  Son  made  of  himself  at  the  cross. 

1  Hist.  Israel,  i.  333. 


316  SACRED  HISTORY. 

5.  The  wonderful  death-pang  of  Abraham  was  endured  on  a 
mountain  in  the  land  of  Moriah.  The  Hebrew  tradition,  with- 
out a  whisper  to  the  contrary,  identifies  the  scene  of  the  sacri- 
fice with  the  site  of  the  temple  at  Jerusalem.  The  weight  of 
Christian  authorities  supports  this  tradition,  although  a  few 
scholars  have  selected  Gerizim  as  the  place.^  In  behalf  of  the 
Hebrew  tradition  it  is  shown,  first,  that  the  temple  was  built  on 
Mount  Moriah  (2  Chron.  iii.  1).  Abraham  went  to  a  mountain 
in  the  land  of  Moriah.  Next,  Tristram  alleges  that,  "  travelling 
at  the  ordinary  rate  of  the  country,  Jerusalem  would  just  be 
reached  on  the  third  day  (as  required  by  the  narrative)  from 
Beer-sheba ;  to  reach  Moreh  (Gerizim)  in  the  same  time,  is 
impossible,  at  the  pace  of  peasants  with  their  asses  "  (Geikie,  i. 
399). 

There  is  nothing,  either  in  the  reason  of  the  case  or  in  the 
comparative  weight  of  the  authorities,  to  disturb  the  cherished 
conviction  that  Abraham's  altar  consecrated  the  height  which 
in  due  time  became  the  site  of  the  holy  temple.  "  The  primary 
object  of  the  command,"  says  Hengstenberg,  "  was  to  give  this 
place  a  primitive  historic  consecration."  Abraham  called  the 
place  Jehovah-jireh,  which  being  interpreted  is,  "  In  the  mount 
of  the  Lord  it  shall  be  provided"  {Rev.  Ver.').  We  may  take 
this  as  a  prophecy  that  Jehovah  would  thereafter  provide  on 
that  mountain,  in  the  Lamb  of  God,  a  sacrifice  which  taketh 
away  the  sin  of  the  world. 

6.  The  virtues  exhibited  by  Abraham  are  identical  with 
those  which  Christ  bestows  on  his  disciples.  His  faith  in  the 
promises  of  God  was  not  weakened  by  the  command  which 
apparently  rendered  those  very  promises  null  and  void.  His 
obedience    to    God    also   was   implicit,   prompt,   unhesitating. 

1  For  Jerusalem.  — Josephus,  Antiq.,  1. 13, 1 ;  Ewald's  Hist.  Isra.,  vol.  iii.  331; 
Hengstenberg's  King,  of  God,  i.  165;  Keil  and  Delitzsch;  Tristram,  Land  of  Isra., 
p.  154;  Milman's  Hist.  Jews,  1,24;  Geikie,  i.  399;  Jacobus,  Lange,  Knobel,  Kurtz, 
Kalisch,  Bp.  of  Ely,  all  on  Gen.  xxii.  2;  Bib.  Diets,  of  Fausett,  Kitto,  McClintock 
and  Strong. 

For  Gerizim.  —  Stanley's  Jewish  Church,  i.  53;  DeWette,  Michaelis,  Bleek, 
Tuch,  Lieut.  Gonder;  Smith's  Diet. 

Doubters.  —  Alford,  Murphy,  Fairbairn. 


DEATU  OF  AnRAIIA^^.  317 

Aeain,  his  surrender  to  God  of  what  was  dearest  to  him  shows 
that  he  was  like  God,  who  gave  up  his  dearest  for  us  sinners. 
And  yet  the  likeness  was  partial  only,  because,  as  Hengstenberg 
remarks,  "  God  gave  in  reality  what  he  demanded  from  Abraham 
only  in  the  intention,  not  in  the  accomplishment." 

Here  the  history  of  the  old  patriarch  culminates.  Greater 
things  he  could  not  do ;  greater  wonders  he  could  not  see ;  a 
more  fiery  trial  could  not  threaten  to  devour  him.  He  re- 
ceived thenceforth  no  new  theophany,  no  new  revelation.  He 
had  finished  his  course,  he  had  kept  the  faith.  And  as  an  indi- 
cation that  the  patriarchal  office  was  about  to  pass  over  to 
Isaac,  the  narrative  of  the  altar  from  which  Abraham  "  received 
him  in  a  figure "  is  immediately  followed  by  a  genealogy  of 
the  family  in  Mesopotamia,  into  which  Rebecca,  the  wife  of 
Isaac,  had  been  born.  The  rest  is  briefly  told.  Sarah  died, 
and  is  the  only  w^oman  whose  age  at  her  death  is  preserved  in 
the  Scriptures.  Her  husband  purchased  a  family  burying- 
ground,  and  buried  her  within  its  enclosure.  He  showed 
thereby,  as  Calvin  remarks,  that  "  the  promise  of  the  inherit- 
ance would  not  be  made  void  by  his  death  or  that  of  his  people, 
but  it  rather  came  then  and  there  into  full  effect."  He  died  at 
the  good  old  age  of  one  hundred  and  seventy-five  years,  and  his 
sons  Isaac  and  Ishmael  buried  him  by  the  side  of  Sarah  in  the 
cave  of  ]\Iachpelah. 

The  close  of  Abraham's  career  opens  the  way  for  a  survey  of 
the  progress  of  revelation  from  Adam  and  from  Noah  to  Abra- 
ham. By  comparing  the  revelations  made  to  Adam  with  those 
made  to  Abraham,  we  perceive,  (1)  that  the  supreme  gift  to 
Adam  took  the  form  of  a  judicial  sentence :  his  seed  should  be 
the  serpent-bruiser,  the  conqueror,  destroying  the  work  of  the 
Devil.  To  Abraham  the  revelation  took  the  form  of  a  promise : 
his  seed  should  bless  all  the  families  of  the  earth.  (2)  To  the 
father  of  the  race,  salvation  is  described  as  coming  through  the 
medium  of  his  posterity  at  large  ;  the  father  of  the  faithful 
was  assured  that  salvation  should  be  deposited  in  his  particular 
family.  (3)  The  heirs  of  promise  were  narrowed  down  from 
Adam  through   the   generations.     At  first  the  chosen  people 


318  SACRED  HISTORY. 

were  in  his  posterity,  then  successively  in  the  posterity  of  Seth, 
Noah,  Shem,  Terah,  and  Abraham,  while  the  peoples  living  side 
by  side  with  them  were  counted  out.  (4)  The  self-revelation 
of  God  made  corresponding  progress.  To  Adam  he  was 
known  as  Elohim  the  absolute  or  supreme  God ;  next,  as  Jeho- 
vah, the  God  of  salvation,  the  God  who  concludes  and  keeps 
covenants  with  his  people ;  and  shortly  afterwards  as  Jehovah 
Elohim,  the  Lord  God.  To  Abraham,  God  made  himself 
known  as  the  El  Shaddai,  the  Almighty.  In  the  theophanies 
the  uncreated  Jehovah-Angel  revealed  his  glory,  resting  on  the 
personal  distinction  and  the  substantial  identity  of  the  God 
invisible  and  the  God-man  seen  face  to  face,  and  so  laying  the 
foundation  for  a  true  Christology.  (5)  Side  by  side  with  the 
progressive  revelation  of  God,  and  the  appointment  of  the  ordi- 
nances of  worship,  vital  piety  was  developed  among  believers. 
Of  Adam  we  have  reason  to  believe  that  he  laid  hold  of  the 
hope  contained  in  the  first  gospel.  In  Abraham  the  graces  of 
the  Spirit  were  conspicuous,  —  faith  in  God,  union  and  fellow- 
ship with  him,  disappointments  and  sorrows  meekly  borne,  and 
holy  obedience  culminating  in  the  complete  surrender  of  self 
at  the  altar  of  Isaac.  And  with  his  growth  in  grace  there  was 
a  growth  in  saving  knowledge.  He  saw  Christ's  day,  and  was 
glad,  and  he  apprehended  the  possibility  of  the  resurrection  of 
the  dead. 

A  comparison  of  the  covenant  made  with  Noah  and  that 
made  with  Abraham  shows,  (1)  that  the  preservation  of  the 
race  from  destruction  by  another  flood,  was  in  order  to  pre- 
pare the  way  for  the  establishment  of  the  Church  and  kingdom 
of  God  in  the  family  of  Abraham.  (2)  In  Noah's  blessing 
on  Shem,  the  idea  of  particularism  is  obscurely  hinted  at,  — 
"  Blessed  be  the  Lord  God  of  Shem : "  in  the  covenant  with 
Abraham,  full  effect  is  given  to  the  principle.  (3)  In  Noah's 
prophecy,  Shem  and  Japheth  are  made  heirs  of  the  promised 
spiritual  blessings  ;  nothing  is  said  of  Ham's  share  therein.  In 
the  covenant  with  Abraham,  all  races,  Ham  included,  are  made 
heirs  of  the  great  redemption.  (4)  To  Abraham,  more  dis- 
tinctly than  to  Noah,  faith  is  set  forth  as  the  instrument  of 


PROGRESSIVE  REVELATIONS. 


319 


justification  before  God.  (5)  In  Abraham's  family,  not  in 
Noah's,  the  visible  Church  was  organized,  a  long  step  in  ad- 
vance. (6)  The  covenant  with  the  second  father  of  the  race 
was  confirmed  by  a  sign,  the  rainbow.  The  covenant  with 
Abraham  was  confirmed  by  the  sign  of  circumcision,  and  that 
sign  was  raised  to  the  dignity  of  a  sacrament.  (7)  The  cove- 
nant with  Abraham  was  a  better  covenant  than  that  with  Noah, 
and  conveyed  better  promises.  A  beautiful  and  fertile  country 
was  given  to  him  and  his  seed  for  a  permanent  possession.  His 
seed  should  become  a  great  nation ;  kings  and  princes  should 
appear  in  its  bosom.  The  Almighty  was  their  God,  and  he 
would  hurl  back  on  the  hostile  kingdoms  the  curses  which  they 
should  disgorge  on  his  chosen  people.  And  as  the  consummate 
glory  of  the  Abrahamic  race,  Christ,  the  Saviour  of  the  world, 
should  be  born  in  its  bosom,  and  his  gospel  should  subjugate 
the  earth. 

GENEALOGY   OF   THE   CHOSEN   SEED. 
TEKAH. 


Haran. 


Iscab. 


Moab. 


Nahor 
(of  Milcah). 


Lot. 


Bethuel. 


(of  Hagar). 
Isbtnael. 


(of  Sarah). 

Isaac 

I 

(of  Rebekab). 


Ammon.    Laban. 
I 


Rebekab. 


Leah. 


Rachel. 


Esau  (Edom). 


Jacob  (Israel) 


(of  Leah). 


(of  Bilhah). 


(of  Zilpah). 


Reuben.      Simeon.      Levi.       Dan.       Naphtali.     Gad.         Asher. 
Judah.  Issachar. 

Zebulun.    Dinah.  | 

Ephraim. 


(of  Rachel). 


Joseph.    Benjamin. 


Manasseh. 


320 


SACRED  HISTORY. 


CHAPTER  XXII. 

ISAAC. 

ISAAC'S   CHRONOLOGY. 

{According  to  Usher.) 


Cir.  B.C 

Age. 

1897 

Isaac  born. 

1892 

Mocked  by  Ishmael 

5 

1872 

Offered  up     ...        . 

25 

1860 

Sarah  died     .... 

37 

1857 

Isaac  married 

40 

Gen.  XXV.  20. 

1847 

Shem  (of  Noah)  died     . 

50 

1837 

Esau  and  Jacob  born     . 

60 

XXV.  26. 

1822 

Abraham  died,  aged  175 

75 

XXV.  7. 

1805 

Esau  sold  his  birthright 

92 

1804 

Isaac  went  to  Gerar 

93 

1796 

Esau's  plural  marriage  . 

101 

xxvi.  34. 

1773 

Ishmael  died,  aged  137  . 

124 

XXV.  17. 

1760 

Jacob  and  Esau  blessed 

137 

1753 

Jacob's  plural  marriage 

144 

1745 

Joseph  born  .... 

.     152 

1732 

Jacob's  return  to  Bethel 

165 

1729 

Joseph  sold   .... 

168 

1717 

Isaac  died     .... 

180 

XXXV.  28. 

Gen.  XXV.  11.  "And  it  came  to  pass  after  the  death  of 
Abraham,  that  God  blessed  his  son  Isaac."  At  the  moment 
of  Abraham's  death,  Isaac  became  the  sole  heir  of  the  covenant, 
and  the  sole  representative  of  the  promised  seed.  And  as  a 
sign  that  the  great  inheritance  which  God  had  deposited  with 
the  father  had  descended  to  the  son,  "God  blessed  his  son 
Isaac,"  even  as  he  had  blessed  Abraham  just  one   hundred 


GUILD    OF  PROMISE,   Trapa  <f>v(nv.  321 

years  earlier.  Isaac  had  been  already  blessed  in  his  birth  and 
marriage. 

He  was  by  his  birth  (1)  the  child  of  a  definite  promise.  Abra- 
ham was  twice  mistaken  ;  once  when  he  thought  that  Eliezer 
his  steward  would  be  his  heir,  and  again  when  he  believed  that 
Tshmael  would  occupy  that  position.  When  he  perceived 
that  Ishmael  was  to  be  superseded  by  the  birth  of  a  son  to 
Sarah,  he  prayed,  "  Oh  that  Ishmael  might  live  before  thee  ! "  a 
prayer  that  Ishmael  might  not  be  cast  out,  but  share  in  the 
Divine  favor  and  the  covenant  blessings.  One  might,  though 
with  some  reserve,  imagine  that  Abraham  anticipated  the  early 
death  of  Isaac  as  possible,  and  that  in  such  an  event  he  looked 
forward  to  the  accession  of  Ishmael  to  the  great  inheritance  ; 
taking  what  has  been  called  "•  a.  double  security  for  the  fulfil- 
ment of  the  promises."  But  he  was  taught  to  acquiesce  in 
the  plan  of  Providence  ;  for  the  Lord  said  to  him  that  Ishmael 
should  live,  and  be  blessed,  and  be  made  a  great  nation,  but 
God  would  establish  his  covenant  with  Isaac  for  an  everlasting 
covenant  (chaps,  xvi.,  xvii.). 

2.  Isaac  was  the  fruit  of  a  supernatural  interposition  in  the 
ordinary  course  of  human  nature.  "  God  had  chosen  a  people 
which  as  yet  did  not  exist,  which  he  was  to  call  into  being  by 
his  almighty  power,  irapa  ^vVcv,  against  nature,  from  a  sterile 
body  which  was  as  good  as  dead."  ^  At  Isaac's  birth,  Abraham 
and  Sarah  were  beyond  the  age  when  the  human  being  becomes 
a  parent.  So  thought  the  future  father  and  mother.  When 
God  said  to  the  husband,  "  I  will  give  thee  a  son  also  of  Sarah," 
the  old  man  fell  upon  his  face  and  laughed.  According  to 
Calvin,  he  "  was  partly  lifted  up  with  gladness,  and  partly  car- 
ried out  of  himself  with  wonder."  Paul  recognized  no  sin  of 
unbelief  in  Abraham's  laughter:  "He  staggered  not  at  the 
promise  of  God  through  unbelief,  but  was  strong  in  faith,  giving 
glory  to  God;  and  being  fully  persuaded  that  what  he  had 
promised,  he  was  able  also  to  perform  "  (Gen.  xvii.  17 ;  Rom. 
iv.  20,  21).  The  laughter  of  Sarah  was  an  expression  of  incre- 
dulity, if  not  of  derision.  As  such  it  was  rebuked  by  the 
1  Kurtz:  Old  Covenant,  i.  204. 


322  SACBED  HISTORY. 

Jehovah-Angel  (Gen.  xviii.  13).  "  This  Divine  interposition  ele- 
vates the  whole  development  above  the  sphere  of  mere  nature, 
and  transports  it  into  that  of  grace  "  (Gen.  xviii.  10,  14).^ 

3.  Isaac  was,  undoubtedly,  the  legitimate  son  of  Abraham. 
This  is  proved  by  the  promise  of  God  to  him,  often  repeated. 
It  receives  a  striking  illustration  from  the  incident  related  in 
chap.  XX.  During  a  visit  of  Abraham  and  his  wife  to  Gerar, 
Abimelech,  the  heathen  king,  attempted  to  take  Sarah  as  his 
wife.  God  threatened  the  king  with  death  if  he  should  come 
near  to  her ;  and  afterward  he  added,  "  I  withheld  thee  from 
sinning  against  me,  therefore  suffered  I  thee  not  to  touch  her." 
According  to  the  general  opinion  of  biblical  scholars,  this  inci- 
dent occurred  within  the  year  before  the  birth  of  Isaac  (Gen. 
XX.  1 ;  xxi.  2).  But  God,  by  a  direct  interposition,  prevented  the 
paternity  of  Isaac  from  being  brought  into  doubt.  A  minute 
and  exact  account  of  the  whole  transaction  was  spread  upon 
the  sacred  record,  so  that  the  posterity  of  Isaac,  down  to  the 
latest  generation,  might  be  assured  that  they  were  the  children 
of  Abraham.  Very  significant  is  the  well-considered  account  in 
Gen.  XX.  5-11,  of  Sarah's  narrow  escape  from  the  advances  of 
Abimelech,  when  compared  with  the  less  precise,  though  suffi- 
cient, explanation  of  her  relation  with  Pharaoh,  twenty-five 
years  earlier  (Gen.  xii.  15-20).  In"*  both  cases  her  honor,  in 
the  last  her  maternity  as  well  as  her  honor,  were  protected  by 
the  act  of  God, 

4.  Isaac  was  the  sole  representative  of  the  chosen  seed,  and 
the  sole  heir  of  the  chosen  land.  God  said  to  the  old  patriarch, 
"  In  Isaac  shall  thy  seed  be  called."  When  God  said  to  him, 
"  Unto  thy  seed  will  I  give  this  land,"  he  meant  Isaac.  The 
people  that  should  go  into  Egypt,  and  be  oppressed  tliere,  and 
afterwards  go  out  with  great  substance,  and  possess  the  prom- 
ised land,  were  the  posterity  of  Isaac.  From  Abraham  through 
Isaac,  the  only  son  of  Sarah,  a  race  arose,  unique  in  character  and 
habits,  whose  historical  position,  through  all  their  generations 
down  to  this  day,  has  been  the  problem  and  wonder  of  the  world. 

5.  Isaac  was  a  child  of  the  covenant.    He  was  entitled  to 

1  Kurtz:  Old  Covenant,  i.  206. 


SOLE   TIEin    OF  THE   COVENANT.  323 

this  distinction  on  three  grounds.  First,  he  was  the  "son 
indeed,"  promised  in  the  second  stage  of  the  covenant.  "  Abra- 
ham said  unto  God,  Oh  that  Ishmael  might  live  before  thee ! 
And  God  said,  Sarah  thy  wife  shall  bear  thee  a  son  indeed ;  and 
thou  shalt  call  his  name  Isaac."  Next,  he  was  made,  by  Divine 
appointment,  a  party  to  the  covenant,  God  said,  "  I  will  estab- 
lish my  covenant  with  him  [Isaac],  and  his  seed  after  him;" 
"  My  covenant  will  I  establish  with  Isaac  "  (Gen.  xvii.  18-21). 
And,  thirdly,  he  had  an  hereditary  interest  in  all  the  promises. 
Heirship  is  one  of  the  privileges  of  a  child ;  and  by  virtue  of 
his  birthright  as  the  sole  child  of  the  covenant  in  Abraham's 
household,  he  was  entitled  to  hold  the  position  of  its  represent- 
ative. This  circumstance  justifies  the  Church,  as  it  now  is, 
in  calling  the  offspring  of  believers  "  the  children  of  the  cove- 
nant." The  name  itself  originated  with  Peter,  after  the  Day  of 
Pentecost :  "  Ye  are  the  children  of  the  prophets,  and  of  the 
covenant  which  God  made  with  your  fathers"  (Acts  iii.  25). 
The  unique  and  exalted  position  assigned  to  Isaac,  in  the  plan 
of  Providence,  appeared  not  only  in  the  incidents  attending  his 
birth,  but  it  gave  shape  to  the  whole  course  of  his  life.  It 
controlled,  for  example,  the  arrangements  which  were  made  for 
his  marriage. 

Gex.  xxiv.  —  Abraham  Experienced  a  twofold  anxiety  in 
regard  to  Isaac's  choice  of  a  wife.  His  marriage  with  a  Canaan- 
itish  woman  would  result  in  an  intermixture  of  the  chosen 
with  the  rejected  race,  and  a  doomed  race,  even  if  it  did  hot 
weaken  Isaac's  loyalty  to  the  covenant.  If  he  should  go  to  his 
kindred  in  Mesopotamia  in  search  of  a  wife,  he  might  never 
return  to  the  promised  land.  The  wise  old  patriarch  made  pro- 
vision against  both  of  these  contingencies.  He  took  his  faithful 
old  steward  into  his  confidence,  and  exacted  from  him  a  three- 
fold promise,  under  the  sanction  of  an  oath  in  the  most  solemn 
form.  The  steward  swore  that  he  would  not  marry  Isaac  to 
a  daughter  of  the  Canaanites ;  that  he  would  bring  a  wife- 
to  him  from  Abraham's  native  country  and  kindred;  and  that 
he  would  in  no  event  take  Isaac  to  Mesopotamia,  not  even  if 
the  woman  should  refuse  to  go  to  Canaan  before  she  should  be 


324  SACRED  n  I  STORY. 

married.  Abraham,  as  usual,  solved  the  problem  by  his  faith. 
He  said  to  his  steward,  "  The  Lord  God  of  heaven  .  .  .  shall 
send  his  angel  before  thee,  and  thou  shalt  take  a  wife  unto  my 
son  from  thence "  (Gen.  xxiv.  7).  In  due  time  the  steward 
returned  from  his  journey,  bringing  with  him  Rebekah.  Isaac 
met  her,  and  took  her  to  Sarah's  tent  (xxiv.  67)  ;  and  she 
became  his  wife.  The  minuteness  of  the  story  is  justified,  not 
only  by  its  simple  beauty,  and  the  insight  it  affords  into  the 
customs  and  habits  of  the  period,  but  by  the  consciousness 
awakened  in  Isaac  of  God's  care  for  himself  as  the  representa- 
tive of  the  chosen  seed.  And  in  order  to  direct  attention  to 
the  special  providence  in  the  marriage,  Moses  had  already 
recorded  the  genealogy  of  Rebekah,  showing  that  she  was  the 
second  cousin  of  Isaac,  being  the  granddaughter  of  Nahor, 
Abraham's  brother  (Gen.  xxii.  20-23). 

Gen.  XXV.  —  Before  entering  on  the  public  career  of  Isaac, 
the  historian  disposes  finally  of  Hagar  and  Keturah,  with  their 
descendants,  in  order  to  clear  the  ground  for  the  history  of  the 
chosen  seed.  Such  is  the  uniform  method  of  the  writer.  He 
had  already  given  place  in  his  narrative,  first  to  the  race  of 
Cain,  and  then  to  the  race  of  Seth.  He  speaks  first  of  Japheth 
and  Ham,  and  then  of  Shem.  And  here  Keturah  is  dismissed 
from  the  record,  and  after  her  Ishmael,  to  make  way  for  Isaac. 
Prominence  is  given  to  Ishmael,  by  assigning  to  him  a  separate 
section  in  the  narrative.  It  is  the  eighth  in  the  series,  and  is 
entitled,  "The  generations  of  Ishmael,  Abraham's  son."  His 
twelve  sons,  twelve  princes,  corresponding  to  the  twelve  patri- 
archs of  Israel,  are  mentioned  by  name,  and  their  primeval 
home  in  Arabia  described.  In  answer  to  the  touching  inter- 
cession of  Abraham,  God  had  promised  to  enrich  Ishmael  with 
temporal  blessings,  to  build  him  up  into  a  great  and  powerful 
nation  under  the  rule  of  princes,  and  to  assign  a  home  to  him 
and  his  posterity.  Moses  is  understood  to  say  that  the  Ishmael- 
ites  occupied  the  vast  regions  from  the  Persian  Gulf  and  the 
Euphrates  to  the  borders  of  Egypt ;  and  Josephus  confirms  that 
statement.!    They  dwelt   also   "in   the   presence   of  all  their 

1  Ant.  i.  12,  4. 


BEDOUIN  PEDIGREES.  325 

brethren,"  near  the  possessions  of  the  Israelites,  Edomites, 
]\Iidianites,  Moabites,  Ammonites,  and  of  the  other  descendants 
of  Terah  and  Abraham.  And  no  words  conid  more  accurately 
describe  the  character  of  the  Bedouin  Arab  than  the  oracle  at 
the  birth  of  Ishmael,  recorded  in  Gen.  xvi.  12.  He  is  a  wild 
man,  lawless  and  ungovernable,  often  cut  to  pieces  or  put  to 
flight  in  battle,  but  never  subjugated.  He  is  the  outlaw  among 
the  nations.  His  proverbial  saying  is,  that  "  in  the  desert  every- 
body is  everybody's  enemy."  ^  Although  the  Bedouins  have 
fulfilled  the  terms  of  tlie  oracle,  it  is  to  be  borne  in  mind  that 
they  did  not  derive  their  origin  from  Ishmael  alone.  At  the 
dispersion  of  mankind,  about  three  hundred  years  before  his 
birth,  Arabia  was  settled  by  the  thirteen  sons  of  Joktau  of 
Shem,  and  a  portion  of  £he  family  of  Cush  of  Ham.^  The  twelve 
tribes  of  Ishmael,  with  the  offspring  of  Keturah's  six  sons,  of 
Esau,  and  perhaps  of  Lot,  became  fused  down  with  each  other 
and  with  the  aborigines.  Their  blood  was  still  further  adul- 
terated by  that  of  the  many  foreign  races  from  Africa,  from 
Abyssinia  and  other  regions,  which  in  later  times  gained  a  foot- 
hold in  Arabia.^  The  student  of  Scripture  prophecy  should 
give  due  Aveight  to  these  circumstances  in  the  application  of  the 
oracle.  With  the  help  of  these  facts  it  is  easy  to  dispose  of 
the  empty  boasts  of  the  ]\Iahometan  Arabs  that  they  and  notably 
their  great  prophet  were  Ishmaelites  of  the  pure  blood.  The 
most  that  can  be  said  of  the  Bedouins  is  that  their  mixed  race 
is  to  a  certain  small  degree  Ishmaelitish.  And  yet  Mahomet's 
direct  descent  from  Ishmael  is  asserted  by  the  Arabs  with  an 
intensity  and  passion  bordering  on  ferocity.  Even  according 
to  their  own  authorities,  his  pedigree,  beyond  its  steps  nearest  to 
himself,  is  very  doubtful.  Mr.  Gibbon,  after  examining  the 
traditional  genealogy,  says,  "  At  Mecca  I  would  not  dispute  its 
authority;  at  Lausanne  I  will  venture  to  observe,  (1)  That 
from  Ishmael  to  Mahomet,  a  period  of  twenty-five  hundred 
years  they  reckon  thirty  instead  of  seventy-five  generations. 
(2)   TJiat  modern  Bedouins  are  ignorant  of  their  history,  and 

1  Kaliscb:  Gen.  xvi.  12.  2  Rawlinson:  Orig.  of  Nations,  pp.  246-249. 

8  Ency.  Brit.,  9tli  ed.,  art.  Arabia. 


326  SACRED  HISTORY. 

careless  of  their  pedigree."  ^  And  yet  the  tradition,  if  taken  as 
true,  yields  a  remarkable  result.  Jesus  Christ  is  pre-eminently 
the  seed  of  the  woman :  no  less  notoriously  does  Mahomet  rep- 
resent the  seed  of  the  serpent.  If  both  of  them  are  the  sons 
of  Abraham,  then  in  the  family  of  the  Friend  of  God  and  the 
Father  of  the  faithful  has  arisen  the  longest  and  fiercest  war 
ever  waged  by  the  seed  of  the  serpent  on  the  seed  of  the 
woman. 

Here  begins  the  ninth  section  of  Genesis:  "Now  these  are 
the  generations  of  Isaac."  His  life  after  his  marriage  was 
uneventful.  He  was  little  more  than  the  connecting  link  in  the 
chain  of  the  promised  seed  between  Abraham  his  father  and 
Jacob  his  son.  No  new  promise  was  made  to  him.  No  further 
development  or  explanation  of  the  Abrahamic  covenant  distin- 
guished his  life.  And  yet  he  received  from  God  decisive  evi- 
dence that  he  was  of  the  chosen  seed,  and  the  channel  through 
which  salvation  was  conveyed  to  the  coming  generations. 
Among  the  tokens  of  the  Divine  favor,  two  theophanies  were 
granted  to  him :  one  at  Gerar,  the  other  at  Beersheba  (Gen. 
xxvi.  2-24).  In  these  sacred  phenomena,  God  renewed  the 
covenant  which  he  had  made  with  Abraham ;  promising  to  be 
with  Isaac  and  to  bless  him,  and  to  give  to  him  with  his  seed 
all  the  land  of  Canaan.  As  the  consummate  promise,  God  said 
that  in  Isaac  all  nations  should  be  blessed.  Just  here,  however, 
the  record  makes  mention  of  two  important  particulars.  In 
one  of  these  the  promises  to  Isaac  are  shown  to  be  founded  in 
the  oath  which  God  swore  to  Abraham.  Isaac  received  no  new 
covenant,  but  a  renewal  simply  of  that  given  to  his  father ; 
showing  that  instead  of  a  series  of  covenants,  one  to  each  gene- 
ration, the  original  instrument  was  declared  to  be  one  covenant 
with  a  continuous  life.  Nearly  eight  hundred  years  later  David 
described  the  covenant  as  a  word  which  "  God  commanded  to  a 
thousand  generations,  even  the  covenant  which  he  made  with 
Abraham,  and  his  oath  unto  Isaac,  and  hath  confirmed  the  same 
to  Jacob  for  a  law,  and  to  Israel  for  an  everlasting  covenant " 
(1  Chron.  xvi.  15-17).  Moreover,  God  bound  up  his  covenant 
1  Decline  and  Fall,  ch.  1.,  note. 


TREADING  IN  HIS  FATHER'S  STEPS.  327 

with  the  faith  and  obedience  of  Abraham.  He  dechired  that 
he  renewed  the  promise  to  Isaac,  because,  said  he,  "  Abraham 
obeyed  my  voice,  and  kept  my  charge,  my  commandments,  and 
my  laws"  (Gen.  xxvi.  5),  —  an  encomium  which  God  has  not 
passed  on  any  other  human  being.  Righteousness,  obedience 
to  God,  was  the  indispensable  condition  of  the  promises. 

The  close  connection  of  Isaac  with  Abraham  in  the  line  of 
the  chosen  seed  is  set  forth  in  the  resemblance  between  the 
experience  of  the  father  and  the  son.  During  the  life  of  both 
a  famine  fell  upon  the  land.  Abraham  went  to  Egypt  on  the 
occasion ;  and  Isaac  intended  to  do  the  same,  but  was  prohib- 
ited by  the  Almighty  from  going  beyond  Gerar.  At  Gerar  he 
imitated  the  example  of  his  father,  resorting  to  a  falsehood  in 
order  to  protect  his  wife  from  the  wicked  purposes  of  the  king. 
The  Almighty  delivered  both  Sarah  and  Rebekah  from  dis- 
honor, while  he  left  their  husbands  to  the  indignant  and 
humiliating  reproof  of  the  princes  whom  they  had  deceived. 
To  the  older  and  younger  patriarchs  God  gave  great  worldly 
prosperity  in  Gerar.  Abraham  received  a  thousand  pieces  of 
silver  from  the  sheik.  God  gave  to  Isaac  a  harvest  of  a  hun- 
dred-fold, showing  that  he  need  not  go  to  Egypt,  and  that, 
even  in  a  year  of  famine,  the  land  of  promise  was  a  land  of 
plenty.  Abraham  dug  wells  of  water,  and  Isaac  used  them. 
The  Philistines,  for  envy,  took  away  the  wells  from  the  father, 
and  afterwards  filled  them  with  rubbish  to  the  annoj^ance  of 
his  son.  The  father  digged  a  well  in  Beersheba,  and  made 
a  treaty  there  with  the  king  Abimelech.  The  son  visited  the 
old  well,  and  renewed  the  treaty ;  and  in  memory  thereof  the 
well  now  a  second  time  took  the  name  of  Beersheba,  the  "  well 
of  the  oath."  Abraham  planted  there  a  tamarisk,  a  long-lived 
evergreen  tree,  gathering  its  wealth  of  foliage  in  clusters,  —  an 
emblem  of  the  everlasting  grace  of  God.  Isaac  in  his  turn 
built  an  altar  there,  and  called  on  the  name  of  Jehovah  (Gen. 
xxi.  and  xxvi.). 

His  life,  as  a  whole,  was  not  a  life  of  adventure  or  striking 
incidents.  He  passed  the  first  forty  years  of  his  life  with  his 
parents,  and  was  subject  to  them.     Not  until  the  close  of  that 


328  SACRED  HISTORY. 

period,  and  after  the  death  of  his  mother,  was  he  married. 
Only  two  children  were  born  to  him,  and  they  not  until  he  had 
been  married  twenty  years.  Although  a  pilgrim  and  a  stranger 
in  the  land,  he  was  not  migratory  like  his  father  and  his  son. 
He  made  but  a  single  journey,  going  no  farther  than  Gerar, 
a  few  miles  from  home.  He  returned,  after  a  brief  absence,  to 
Canaan,  and  there  he  spent  the  last  hundred  years  of  his  life. 
In  regard  to  the  activities  or  sufferings  by  which  this  long  period 
was  filled,  the  record  observes  a  silence  which  is  broken  by  the 
mention  of  two  incidents  only.  When  Isaac  was  seventy-five 
years  old,  Abraham  died.  After  this  we  find  Isaac  at  the  well 
Lahai-roi,  a  secluded  and  solitary  spot,  far  removed  from  the 
haunts  of  the  Canaanites,  and  well  adapted  to  his  retiring  dis- 
position. Here,  perhaps,  at  the  age  of  one  hundred  and  thirty- 
seven,  he  gave  his  final  bequest  to  Jacob  and  Esau.  Although 
greatly  enfeebled  in  body  and  mind,  he  lingered  forty-three 
years  longer,  and,  lingering,  died  when  he  was  one  hundred 
and  forty-seven  years  old. 

Isaac's  character  is  not  without  its  charming  traits.  The 
virtues  of  constancy  and  tenderness  were  conspicuous  in  all  his 
domestic  relations.  He  mourned  the  death  of  his  mother  for 
three  years,  and  until  he  found  comfort  in  the  society  of  his 
wife.  Rebekah  he  loved  at  first  sight,  and  with  a  double 
affection.  Such  was  his  conjugal  fidelity  that  he  never  took 
another  wife  to  her,  showing  a  way  of  life  more  excellent  than 
the  way  followed  by  his  father  and  by  his  sons.  For  Jacob  and 
Esau  his  affection  was  never  stronger  than  when  they  were 
twenty-seven  years  old  and  he  was  a  hundred  and  thirty -seven. 
The  painful  scene  of  his  final  benediction  upon  them  shows 
that  his  affection  for  both  was  purer  than  the  affection  of  either 
was  for  him.  We  have  already  seen  that  if  he  was  twenty-five 
years  of  age  when  he  was  offered  up  by  Abraham,  it  is  right 
to  imagine  that  the  sacrifice  was,  on  his  part,  voluntary,  —  a 
memorable  act  of  obedience  to  his  father  and  of  self-devotion 
to  God.  Other  evidences  of  the  existence  in  him  of  a  spiritual 
life  are  made  known  to  us.  He  had  gone  to  the  field  to  pray 
when  Rebekah  arrived;  he  entreated  the  Lord  that  he  might 


FATHER   AND   SON  CONTRASTED.  329 

have  a  son  ;  he  held  intercourse  with  God  at  Gerar ;  he  adhered 
loyally  to  the  Abrahamic  covenant ;  his  life  was  exemplary  as 
before  God  and  man ;  though  weak  in  body  and  mind,  he 
refused  to  recall  the  blessing  which  he  had  unwittingly  granted 
to  Jacob,  out  of  weakness  being  made  strong  by  the  conviction 
that  he  had  expressed  the  will  of  Jehovah. 

And  yet  his  softness  of  character,  and  his  patience  under 
injuries,  contrast  the  vigorous  personality  of  his  father.  Isaac 
was  not  allowed,  like  Abraham,  to  go  to  Egypt  in  time  of 
famine.  Kurtz  suggests  that  Abraham's  moral  strength  pro- 
tected him  from  the  corrupting  customs  of  the  Egyptians,  —  a 
resistance  to  which  Isaac,  through  weakness,  would  have  been 
unequal.^  Another  series  of  incidents  is  more  instructive  than 
that.  Abraham  got  possession  of  a  well  at  Beersheba,  and  the 
servants  of  the  sheik  took  it  away  from  him.  Thereupon 
Abraham  "reproved"  Abimelech  for  the  bad  conduct  of  his 
people.  The  sheik,  by  way  of  apology,  protested  that  he  had 
not  heard  of  the  outrage.  He  restored  the  well,  and  the  parties 
entered  into  a  treaty  of  peace  under  the  solemnity  of  an  oath. 
Abraham  made  presents  to  Abimelech ;  and  the  latter,  by 
accepting  them,  acknowledged  Abraham's  possession  of  the  well. 
About  ninety  years  later,  Isaac  went  to  Gerar  with  his  caravan. 
The  natives,  out  of  envy  for  his  prosperity,  filled  the  old  wells 
purchased  many  years  before  by  Abraham,  with  rubbish.  Isaac, 
instead  of  calling  the  sheik  to  account,  after  the  manner  of 
his  father,  allowed  himself  to  be  sent  away.  Going  farther  up 
the  valley  of  Gerar,  Isaac  cleaned  out  another  well  digged  hy 
his  father ;  but  the  natives  quarrelled  with  him,  and  he  digged 
a  third  well.  From  that  they  drove  him  still  farther  away. 
At  last  his  patience,  not  his  resistance,  conquered  a  peace.  He 
called  his  newly  dug  well  Rehoboth,  —  room  or  breadth.  What 
the  father  had  gained  by  resenting  injustice,  his  son  obtained 
by  the  Divine  blessing  upon  patient  submission.  And  yet, 
in  all  the  essential  particulars,  he  resembled  Abraham.  He 
believed  God,  obeyed  his  commands,  and  maintained  his 
worship. 

1  Kurtz:  Old  Covenant. 


330  S  ACE  ED  HISTOEY. 

Kurtz  is  of  opinion  that  "  elasticity  of  endurance,  which  does 
not  resist  evil  or  contend  against  it,  but  by  patience  and 
yielding  overcomes  it,  constitutes  the  fundamental  type  of  his 
character."  Hengstenberg  remarks  that  in  Isaac  "  a  pledge  is 
given  that  a  life  which  is  not  highly  gifted,  nor  endowed  with 
extraordinary  powers,  may  yet  be  good  and  blessed ;  that 
faith  and  truth  alone  are  indispensable."  Kalisch  says,  "  If 
Abraham's  enterprising,  unsettled  life  foreshadowed  the  early 
history  of  his  descendants,  if  Jacob  was  a  type  of  the  careful, 
commercial,  unwarlike  character  of  their  later  days,  Isaac  may 
represent  the  middle  period,  in  which  they  lived  apart  from 
the  nations,  and  enjoyed  possession  of  the  fertile  land  of 
promise." 


TUE  FAMILY  TREE  BROADENS.  331 


CHAPTER    XXIII. 

JACOB   AND  ESAU. 

Gex.  XXV.  21-24,  xxvii.  —  Several  particulars  entered  into 
the  position  assigned  to  Jacob  in  sacred  history.  In  the  first 
place,  he  was  the  representative  of  the  covenant,  and  one  of 
the  three  illustrious  pilgrim  fathers.  Secondly,  in  his  family 
the  unit  became  plural.  The  promises  were  originally  given 
to  one  only  of  Terah's  children,  —  Abraham ;  then  to  one  of 
Abraham's  eight  sons,  —  Isaac  ;  and  in  the  third  generation  to 
one  of  Isaac's  twin  children,  —  Jacob.  In  Jacob's  family  the 
headship  of  the  chosen  seed  was  vested  jointly  in  all  his  sons, 
called  by  Stephen  the  twelve  patriarchs  (Acts  vii.  8).  Thirdly, 
in  the  lifetime  of  Jacob  an  important  change  took  place  in  the 
outward  condition  of  the  race.  He  gathered  his  entire  family, 
seventy  in  number,  together  with  the  servants,  and  went  to 
Egypt.  There  his  posterity  were  held  in  slaver}^  through 
several  hundred  years,  and  there  they  expanded  into  a  great 
nation.  This  emigration  had  been  already  foretold  to  Abra- 
ham. It  was  foreshadowed  also  by  his  visit  to  Egypt,  and  by 
the  attempt  of  Isaac  to  go  thither.  Fourthly,  Jacob  became, 
by  Divine  inspiration,  a  prophet.  He  predicted  the  future 
character  and  destiny  of  the  several  tribes  descending  from  his 
twelve  sons  ;  and  he  uttered  a  new  IMessianic  promise,  the 
third  in  the  series  to  which  the  first  gospel  and  the  blessing  of 
Noah  on  Shem  belonged.  Jacob's  position  gives  importance 
to  the  incidents  connected  with  his  birth. 

In  the  first  place,  his  birth  was  not  in  the  ordinar}^  course  of 
nature.  His  father,  Isaac,  was  married  at  forty  years  of  age, 
and  was  childless  at  sixty.     The  trial  of  Abraham's  faith,  rising 


332  SACRED  HISTORY. 

out  of  the  delay  for  many  years  of  the  promise  of  a  son,  was 
repeated  in  the  experience  of  Isaac.  Instead  of  endeavoring 
to  help  God,  after  the  unhappy  example  of  his  father  in  the 
matter  of  Hagar,  Isaac  resorted  to  prayer :  "  he  entreated 
the  Lord  for  his  wife,  and  the  Lord  was  entreated  of  him." 
Isaac  owed  his  birth  to  a  Divine  interposition,  so  also  did 
Jacob.  This  phenomenon,  twice  occurring,  indicated  that  the 
chosen  seed  were  a  peculiar  people,  and  that  the  sjpiritual  seed 
of  Abraham  should  be  born,  not  of  the  will  of  the  flesh,  but  of 
God. 

Before  she  became  a  mother,  Rebekah  perceived  signs  in 
herself  of  evil  omen,  if  not  of  personal  danger.  Two  children 
struggled  together  within  her  person.  She  cried  out  with  dis- 
tress, and  hastened  to  consult  Jehovah.  She  was  informed 
that  she  carried  in  her  womb  two  nations;  these  should  an- 
tagonize each  other ;  one  of  them  should  be  stronger  than  the 
other,  and  the  elder  should  serve  the  younger.  What  occurred 
at  t]]e  birth  of  the  children  explained  the  meaning  of  the 
Divine  oracle.  The  first-born  was  covered  with  a  suit  of 
reddish-brown  hair ;  him  they  called  Esau,  the  "  shaggy."  The 
younger  came  forth  grasping  Esau's  heel ;  him  they  called 
Jacob,  the  "heel-holder"  or  " supplanter,"  or  "one  who  trips 
up  his  fellow." 

This  oracle,  establishing  the  supremacy  of  Jacob  over  Esau, 
is  used  in  the  later  scriptures  to  teach  us  that  the  selection 
which  God  makes  of  the  objects  of  his  favor  has  its  ground, 
not  in  the  objects  themselves,  but  in  his  own  sovereign  will. 
Jehovah  told  Malachi  that  he  had  loved  Jacob  and  hated  Esau 
(Mai.  i.  2,  3).  Paul  takes  up  the  words  spoken  to  the  prophet, 
and  remarks  that  before  Isaac's  children  were  born,  or  had 
done  either  good  or  evil,  it  was  said  that  the  elder  should 
serve  the  younger ;  as  it  is  written,  "  Jacob  have  I  loved,  and 
Esau  have  I  hated."  That  was  done,  that  "the  purpose  of 
God  according  to  election  might  stand,  not  of  works,  but  of 
him  that  calleth  "  (Rom.  ix.  11-13).  The  words  "love"  and 
"  hate "  are  employed  idiomatically,  here  and  in  other  places, 
to  signify  simply  preference.     Thus,  in  Gen.  xxix.  33,  Leah 


DIVINE  SOVEREIGNTY.  333 

complained  that  Jacob  hat&cl  her ;  and  this  is  exphuned  in 
ver.  30,  "Jacob  loved  Rachel  more  than  Leah."  Again,  our 
Saviour  said,  "  If  any  luan  come  to  me,  and  hate  not  his  father 
and  mother  and  wife  and  children  and  brethren  and  sisters, 
yea  and  his  own  life  also,  he  caimot  be  my  disciple  "(Luke  xiv. 
26 ;  compare  Deut.  xxi.  15-17,  Pro  v.  xiii.  24,  Matt.  vi.  24). 
God  preferred  Jacob  over  Esau ;  that,  in  short,  is  the  whole 
case.  Now,  this  preference  did  not  follow  the  law  of  primo- 
geniture, for  Esau  was  the  oldest ;  nor  was  it  governed  by 
their  parentage,  for  both  of  the  brothers  were  born  of  the  same 
father  and  mother,  and  at  one  birth ;  nor  did  it  depend  on 
any  promise  or  prayer,  for  both  were  given  to  the  parents 
under  the  same  promise,  and  in  answer  to  the  same  entreaty ; 
nor  was  it  secured  by  the  good  works  of  Jacob  or  the  bad  con- 
duct of  Esau,  for  the  choice  was  made  before  they  were  born, 
or  had  done  either  good  or  evil.  Paul  declares  that  the 
choice  was  an  act  of  sovereignty ;  the  reason  was  not  in  the 
brothers,  in  either  or  both,  but  in  God.  His  choice  was  not 
irrational,  but  rested  on  good  and  sufficient  reasons,  which 
were  not  revealed.  Paul  further  declares  that  this  selection 
establishes  the  doctrine  that  men  are  chosen  to  salvation  not 
for  their  own  merits,  but  according  to  God's  own  good  pleas- 
ure. "  For  he  saith  to  Moses,  I  will  have  mercy  on  whom  I 
will  have  mercy,  and  I  will  have  compassion  on  whom  I  will 
have  compassion  "  (Rom.  ix.  15).  Moses  does  not  dismiss  the 
thought  here.  He  goes  on  to  show  that  .the  Divine  prefer- 
ence of  Jacob,  as  the  heir  of  the  promises,  was  fully  justified 
by  the  course  of  events. 

Esau's  individuality  announced  itself  in  his  birthmarks. 
His  shaggy  exterior  was  the  sign  of  a  rough  and  sensual 
vigor.  His  life  fulfilled  the  sign :  "  He  was  a  cunning  hunter, 
a  man  of  the  field ; "  abandoning  the  pastoral  life  of  his  race 
for  the  perils  and  stratagems  of  the  chase,  and  for  the  wild  and 
roving  habits  of  the  Bedouin.  He  has  been  called  the  "after- 
play  of  Nimrod."  "Jacob  was  a  plain  man,  dwelling  in  tent^." 
He  preferred  the  life  of  the  shepherd  to  the  life  of  the  hunter, 
pitching  his  tent  quietly  in  the  midst  of  his  flocks  and  herds. 


334  SACRED  niSTORY. 

"  Isaac  loved  Esau,  because  lie  did  eat  of  his  wild  game  ; "  and 
one  might  imagine  that  a  superannuated  Isaac  would  naturally 
lean  for  support  on  an  impulsive  and  robust  Esau.  Rebekah 
loved  the  more  gentle  and  domestic  Jacob,  taking  pride  haply 
in  him  as  the  counterpart  of  herself.  So  the  brothers  grew  up 
together,  each  developing  the  nature  that  was  in  him. 

At  the  age  of  forty,  Esau  followed  his  propensities  in  con- 
tracting a  marriage,  in  a  single  year,  with  two  daughters  of  the 
Hittites,  a  native  trib6  in  Canaan  (Gen.  xxvi.  34).  In  this 
misalliance  Esau  disregarded  the  traditions  of  his  family,  iden- 
tified himself  with  the  rejected  and  accursed  races,  made  it 
certain  that  his  children  would  be  born  of  idolatrous  mothers, 
separating  him  and  them  from  the  land  of  promise  and  the 
blessings  of  the  covenant.  This  marriage  was  from  the  first 
a  grief  to  Isaac  and  Rebekah;  and  twenty  years  afterwards 
Rebekah  complained  that  Esau's  wives  made  her  life  a  weariness 
(Gen.  xxvii.  46).  Esau's  double  marriage  showed  that  he  was 
controlled  by  his  selfishness  rather  than  by  the  proprieties  of 
his  position  as  a  member  of  the  chosen  seed.  About  nine  years 
later,  if  we  may  follow  the  received  chronology,  he  took  another 
stejD  in  the  same  direction,  by  the  sale  of  his  birthright.  In  a 
graphic  description  of  this  painful  scene,  the  sacred  writer 
points  out  the  progressive  fulfilment  of  the  oracle  at  the  birth 
of  the  brothers,  establishing  the  supremacy  of  the  younger  over 
the  elder ;  shows  how  events  were  shaped  towards  the  recogni- 
tion of  Jacob  as  the  successor  of  his  father  in  the  patriarchy ; 
unfolds  still  further  the  disposition  of  Esau,  and  for  the  first 
time  lights  up  the  character  of  Jacob.  Esau  is  seen  returning 
from  an  unsuccessful  hunt,  tired  and  hungry.  He  found  in 
Jacob's  hands  a  mess  of  lentils,  just  prepared,  —  a  favorite  dish 
in  Syria  and  Egypt  even  to  this  day.  The  following  conversa- 
tion occurred :  — 

Esau.  —  Feed  me,  I  pray  thee,  with  that  same  red  pottage, 
for  I  am  faint. 

Jacob.  —  Sell  me  this  day  thy  birthright. 

Esau.  —  Behold,  I  am  at  the  point  of  death ;  and  what  profit 
shall  this  birthright  be  to  me  ? 


TUB  BROTHERS   CONTRASTED.  335 

Jacob.  —  Swear  to  me  this  clay. 

Esau  confirmed  tlie  sale  by  an  oath.  "Then  Jacob  gave 
Esau  bread  and  pottage  of  lentils,  and  supplanted  him  "  (xxv. 
29-34). 

In  this  interview  Esau  appears  faint  and  hungry ;  turning 
away  from  ordinary  homely  fare  to  a  dainty  dish,  allowing  his 
appetite  to  get  the  better  of  his  self-respect,  reckless  of  the 
future,  greedy  for  the  present;  bartering  the  richest  possible  in- 
heritance of  blessings  temporal  and  spiritual,  for  a  paltry  sen- 
sual gratification  ;  consenting  and  swearing  to  a  bargain  which 
disinherited  and  humiliated  him ;  and  complaining,  like  a  fool, 
that  he  was  about  to  die,  as  if  his  death  could  excuse  him  for 
depriving  his  children  of  the  patriarchal  birthright.  Jacob  is 
seen  over-reaching  Esau,  tripping  him  up.  He  is  crafty,  selfish, 
covetous,  seeing  instantly  and  seizing  his  advantage  over  Esau, 
suppressing  the  impulse,  if  any  he  felt,  to  relieve  the  hunger  of 
his  twin  brother  without  fee  or  reward ;  taking  from  an  only 
brother  an  inheritance  of  boundless  honor,  and  giving  for  it  a 
beggarly  return  ;  extorting  from  the  hungry  man  an  unright- 
eous bargain,  and  compelling  him  to  bind  the  bargain  by  an 
oath  in  the  name  of  a  righteous  God.  The  historian  passes  no 
judgment  on  Jacob's  conduct  in  the  transaction.  But  neither 
the  writer  nor  Jacob  appears,  from  any  thing  that  is  said  after- 
wards, to  have  based  his  claim  to  the  birthright  on  this  bargain 
and  sale.  The  judgment  passed  on  Esau  is  made  known  in  these 
graphic  terms:  "He  did  eat  and  drink,  and  rose  up,  and  went 
his  way.  Thus  Esau  despised  his  birthright."  Paul  describes 
him  as  a  "  fornicator  and  profane  person,  who  for  one  morsel  of 
meat  sold  his  birthright"  (Heb.  xii.  IG).  The  first  epithet 
may  be  understood  in  its  specific  sense,  or  symbolically,  to 
characterize  him  as  a  sensualist.  The  word  "  profane  "  inti- 
mates that  the  sale  of  his  birthright  was  a  kind  of  simony. 
The  censures  uttered  by  Moses  and  Paul  are  justified  by  the 
intrinsic  value  of  the  birthright,  and  the  trifling  price  which 
he  set  upon  it.  The  special  privileges  settled  on  the  birthright, 
during  and  after  the  patriarchal  age,  are  thought  to  be  these : 
the  office  of  the  priesthood  (Num.  iii.  12,  13)  ;  supremacy  in  the 


836  SACBED  HISTOBY. 

family,  the  first-born  succeeding  to  the  dignity  and  authority 
of  the  father  (2  Chron.  xxi.  3)  ;  and  a  double  portion  of  the 
patrimony  (Deut.  xxi.  17).  Moreover,  Isaac's  first-born  was, 
apparently  at  least,  the  natural  heir  to  the  promises  made  to 
Abraham  for  his  seed,  including  the  land  of  Canaan,  a  great 
and  powerful  posterity,  and  the  special  favor  of  God.  He 
should  also  in  his  generation  be  the  progenitor  of  Jesus  Christ, 
and  the  channel  through  which  salvation  should  flow  to  the 
ends  of  "the  earth.  The  sin  and  folly  attached  to  the  sale  of 
such  a  birthright,  "for  one  morsel  of  meat,"  are  not  exaggerated 
in  the  Scriptures. 

After  an  interval  of  forty-five  years,  our  attention  is  called 
to  another  feud  in  the  family  of  Isaac,  which  affords  a  new 
insight  into  the  character  of  the  parents  and  their  sods  ;  which 
brought  to  a  crisis  the  destiny  of  Esau,  and  settled  irrevoca- 
bly upon  Jacob  the  heirship  to  the  covenant  promises.  Isaac 
was  one  hundred  and  thirty-seven  years  old,  Esau  and  Jacob 
were  seventy-four.  The  insidious  approaches  of  old  age  had 
enfeebled  the  physical  and  mental  powers  of  the  patriarch. 
He  was  blind  and  bedridden,  and  he  thought  that  his  death 
was  at  hand.  He  requested  his  favorite  son  Esau  to  take  his 
hunting-gear,  and  make  from  the  wild  game  that  he  might  kill, 
in  his  own  words,  "  savory  meat,  such  as  I  love,  and  bring 
it  to  me  that  I  may  eat,  that  my  soul  may  bless  thee  before 
I  die."  This  conversation  took  place  in  private,  but  was  over- 
heard by  Eebekah.  Rightly  suspecting  that  Isaac  was  about 
to  convey  the  Abrahamic  blessing  to  Esau,  she  urged  Jacob  to 
take  advantage  of  Esau's  absence,  and  obtain  the  blessing  by 
stealth.  Here  begins  a  chapter  of  frauds.  Jacob  hesitated, 
not  because  the  proposal  was  perfidious,  but  because,  if  the 
plan  should  fail,  he  would  draw  down  upon  himself  the  curse 
of  his  father.  Rebekah  removed  his  fears  by  a  reckless  impre- 
cation whereby  she  set  an  impious  example  too  often  followed 
by  the  Jewish  race.  She  volunteered  to  take  the  curse  upon 
herself.  The  historian  relates  how  Jacob  killed  two  kids  of 
goats  ;  how  Rebekah  prepared  the  dainty  dish  ;  how  she  dressed 
Jacob  in  Esau's  clothes,  and  fastened  the  rough  skins  of  the 


JACOB'S  FRAUD  —  ESAVS   GBIEF.  337 

young  goat  upon  liis  Imnds  and  his  neck;  how  Jacob  offered 
the  food  to  Isaac ;  how  the  blind  old  man  suspected  mischief, 
and  interrogated  Jacob  as  to  his  identity ;  how  cleverly  the 
deceiver  answered  or  parried  the  questions ;  how  he  supported 
one  of  his  falsehoods  by  taking  the  name  of  Jehovah  in  vain ; 
how  he  permitted  his  father  to  feel  his  hands  and  neck ; 
with  what  skill  he  disguised  every  thing  but  his  voice ;  with 
what  shamelessness,  when  Isaac,  still  suspicious,  asked  him, 
"  Art  thou  my  very  son  Esau  ?  "  Jacob  replied,  "  I  am  ;  "  with 
what  honeyed  words  he  persuaded  the  feeble  old  man  to  sit  up, 
and  eat  the  meat,  and  drink  the  wine.  Then  the  supplanter 
kissed  his  father,  and  the  father  smelled  the  smell  of  the 
field  upon  the  raiment  of  his  son.  The  heart  of  Isaac  M^as 
warmed  towards  Jacob  by  "the  food  and  the  wine  and  the 
kiss  and  the  smell ; "  and  he  pronounced  upon  the  pretender 
the  final  and  irrevocable  blessing.  Jacob  went  out,  and  Esau 
came  in. 

The  historian  describes  the  dismay  of  the  patriarch,  and  the 
grief  and  anger  of  Esau,  at  the  discovery  of  the  fraud.  Isaac 
"  was  horrified,  a  great  horror  exceedingly  "  (^Heh.')  ;  "  Esau 
cried  with  a  great  and  exceeding  bitter  cry."  And  j'et  Isaac 
perceived  that  the  blessing  already  given  to  Jacob  was  from 
God.  He  told  Esau  that  it  did  not  admit  of  recall.  Paul 
lends  a  vivid  touch  to  the  picture:  "Esau  found  no  place  for 
repentance,  though  he  sought  it  carefully  with  tears "  (Hcb. 
xii.  17) ;  meaning  that  he  could  not  prevail  upon  Isaac,  no, 
not  with  persuasions  and  weeping,  to  take  back  his  words. 
When  the  sense  of  his  irreparable  loss  began  to  dawn  upon 
Esau,  he  lifted  up  his  voice  and  wept,  exclaiming,  "  Hast  thou 
but  one  blessing,  my  father?  Bless  me,  even  me  also,  O  my 
father ! "  Isaac  answered  him  with  a  poor  remnant  of  a  bless- 
ing which  was  yet  no  blessing,  and  the  painful  interview  closed. 
Esau  went  out,  carrj-ing  with  him  a  hatred  towards  Jacob  for 
which  he  could  find  no  relief  except  in  the  hope  of  being 
able  to  kill  the  offender  so  soon  as  Isaac  should  die,  and  the 
days  of  mourning  be  ended. 

Isaac's  first  benediction  on  Jacob  secured  to  him  some  of  the 


338  SACRED  HISTOET. 

temporal  benefits,  only,  of  the  Abrahamic  covenant ;  a  reserve 
which  is  not  explained.  It  was  followed  by  a  supplementary 
blessing  recorded  in  the  next  chapter.  He  bequeathed  to 
Jacob  the  possession  of  Canaan,  a  land  refreshed  with  the  dew 
of  heaven,  having  a  kindly  soil,  and  abounding  in  wheat  and 
wine.  He  gave  him  promise  also  of  a  posterity  wliich  should 
assume  pre-eminence  over  the  nations  around  them,  and  over 
their  own  kindred  (Gen.  xxviii.  3,  4).  Isaac's  legacy  to  Esau 
has  been  called  "a  modified  sentence."  It  was  a  direct  an- 
tithesis to  Jacob's  inheritance.  The  barren  sands  of  Idumea 
were  to  be  the  home  of  Esau  and  his  posterity,  far  away  from 
tlie  falling  dews,  the  prolific  soil,  and  the  abundant  fruits  of 
Canaan.  The  people  themselves  were  to  be  a  nation  of  free- 
booters living  by  the  sword.  They  should  be  subjugated,  also, 
by  Jacob's  race,  but  afterwards  they  would  assert  themselves, 
and  throw  off  the  yoke.  This  prediction  was  an  enlargement 
and  explanation  of  the  pre-natal  omen,  representing  the  brothers 
as  engaged  in  a  violent  struggle  for  pre-eminence.  The  omen 
and  the  prediction  were  fulfilled.  Esau's  posterity,  under  the 
name  of  Edomites,  settled  in  the  Idumean  deserts,  were  long 
afterwards  defeated  in  battle  by  Saul  and  subdued  by  David. 
As  often  as  they  revolted,  they  were  put  down,  until  they 
gained  their  independence  in  the  reign  of  Ahaz.  About  one 
hundred  and  thirty  years  before  the  birth  of  Christ,  they  were 
completely  subjugated  by  John  Hyrcanus,  compelled  to  submit 
to  circumcision,  and  incorporated  into  the  Jewish  state.^  At 
a  later  period,  Antipater  and  Herod,  descendants  of  Esau, 
established  an  Idumean  dynasty  over  Judcea,  which  continued 
until  the  dissolution  of  the  Jewish  polity ;  that  the  prediction 
of  Isaac  to  Esau  might  be  fulfilled :  "  When  thou  shalt  have 
dominion,  thou  shalt  break  his  [Jacob's]  yoke  from  off  thy 
neck"  (Gen.  xxvii.  40).  The  fulfilment  of  the  predictions 
respecting  Jacob  will  hereafter  appear.  Taken  together  they 
show  that  Isaac  was  a  prophet,  speaking  by  Divine  inspiration. 
"  By  faith  Isaac  blessed  Jacob  and  Esau  concerning  things  to 
come  "  (Heb.  xi.  20). 

1  Josephus,  Aut.  xiii.  9,  1,  xv.  7,  9. 


SOME   GOOD    WITH  THE  BAD.  339 

From  the  fact  that  he  spake  as  a  prophet,  we  take  an  answer 
to  the  question,  why  did  he  not  recall  his  legacy  to  Jacob  on 
the  discovery  of  his  having  obtained  it  by  false  pretences? 
Doubtless  fraud  vitiates  all  gifts  and  agreements  as  between 
man  and  man.^  But  Isaac  uttered,  unconsciously  to  himself, 
the  will  of  God,  not  his  personal  wishes.  When  he  ascertained 
that  deception  had  been  practised  upon  him,  he  perceived, 
also,  that  the  blessing  which  he  had  intended  to  give  to  Esau 
was,  in  the  Divine  purpose,  assigned  to  Jacob.  He  could  not 
change  that  decree  if  he  would.  He  perceived  that  he  had 
spoken  not  as  the  father  of  Esau,  but  as  the  organ  of  Jehovah. 
He  said  sorrowfully  but  positively,  "  I  have  blessed  him,  and 
yea,  he  shall  be  blessed."  And  the  hard  destiny  to  which  he 
left  his  oldest  and  favorite  son-  makes  it  still  clearer  that 
he  spoke  not  for  himself,  but  for  the  Almighty. 

In  the  disgraceful  scene  at  the  bedside  of  an  aged  patriarch, 
where  we  might  look  for  the  beauties  of  holiness  and  peace, 
we  meet  as  ministering  spirits,  craft,  perfidy,  falsehood,  and 
strife.  All  the  members  of  the  household  are  attempting  to 
overreach  one  another.  And  yet,  where  there  is  so  much  to  be 
censured,  there  is  something  to  be  commended.  Isaac  must 
have  known  that  he  was  proposing  to  disregard  the  Divine 
oracle  at  the  birth  of  his  sons;  that  Esau  had,  by  bigamy, 
voluntarily  forsaken  the  chosen  seed,  and  identified  himself 
with  the  rejected  races  around  him ;  and  that  he  had  despised 
his  birthright.  He  endeavored,  also,  to  transfer  the  blessing 
to  Esau  clandestinely;  and  he  was  unduly  governed  by  his 
partiality  for  Esau  and  his  love  for  the  savory  meat.  But,  on 
the  other  hand,  although  he  intended  to  give  the  blessing  to 
his  oldest  son,  yet,  as  soon  as  the  Divine  appointment  of  Jacob 
was  made  known  to  him,  he  instantly  brought  his  own  inten- 
tions into  subjection  to  the  will  of  God.  Rebekah  and  Jacob 
resorted  to  duplicity  and  falsehood  to  settle  the  inheritance, 
instead  of  waiting  till  God  should  bring  about,  in  his  own  way, 
what  they  believed  to  be  his  fixed  purposes.  They  would  not 
only  help  God,  but  help  him  by  the  resources  of  ungodliness. 
Rebekah  was  the  tempter ;  Jacob  was  willing  to  be  tempted. 


340  SACBED  EISTOBY. 

She  devised  the  stratagem  ;  he  gave  it  full  effect.  Few  women 
could  have  contrived  so  unnatural  a  conspiracy  against  an 
imbecile  husband ;  few  sons  could  so  boldly  execute  the  plan. 
Luther  said,  "I  should  have  probably  run  away  with  horror, 
and  let  the  dish  drop."  On  the  other  hand,  Rebekah  and 
Jacob  entertained  a  just  sense  of  the  surpassing  value  of  the 
Abrahamic  promises;  they  kept  in  their  hearts  the  Divine 
oracle  choosing  Jacob  and  rejecting  Esau ;  they  could  not  doubt 
that  Jacob  was,  by  God's  appointment,  the  representative  of 
the  chosen  seed ;  and  they  proposed  no  more  than  to  secure 
to  Jacob  the  patriarchal  blessing  which,  in  point  of  fact, 
belonged  to  him,  and  not  to  his  brother.  Esau  might  plead 
that  he  was  not  insensible  to  the  value  of  the  covenant  prom- 
ises, and  to  the  honor  of  him  whose  name  should  stand  with 
those  of  Abraham  and  Isaac  in  the  roll  of  the  three  great 
patriarchs.  He  might  contend  that  Jacob  had  gotten  the  birth- 
right by  playing  upon  his  ravenous  appetite,  stung  by  hunger, 
and  that  he  was  under  no  obligation  to  refuse  the  blessing  of 
his  father,  who  was  ready  to  take  upon  himself  the  responsi- 
bility of  disregarding  both  the  bargain  and  the  adverse  oracle 
at  Esau's  birth.  But  Esau  was  not -equal  to  the  sturdy  honesty 
of  him  "who  sweareth  to  his  own  hurt,  and  changeth  not." 
He  knew,  also,  that  he  had  forfeited  the  coveted  legacy  by  his 
bad  conduct,  and  that  he  had  sought  to  recover  it  clandes- 
tinely. Moreover,  his  brutal  instincts  betrayed  themselves  in 
the  avowal  of  his  intention  to  kill  Jacob,  partly  out  of  revenge, 
and  partly,  as  it  may  be  conjectured,  in  the  expectation  of 
inheriting  the  blessing  at  Jacob's  death,  Esau  being  the  only 
living  heir  of  his  brother. 

The  sacred  writer  passes  no  formal  judgment  on  the  mis- 
conduct of  these  people.  But  what  is  more  to  the  purpose, 
and  falls  in  better  with  the  plan  of  the  record,  he  describes 
their  guilt,  and,  as  the  narrative  proceeds,  he  points  out  the 
punishment  which  was  inflicted  upon  them.  Isaac  endured 
the  indignities  put  upon  him  by  the  stratagems  of  Rebekah  and 
Jacob ;  the  sons  of  his  old  age  became  enemies,  and  he  was  left 
alone   in   his  last   days,    deprived   of  his   children.     Rebekah 


JACOB    WISELY  PEEFEBBED.  341 

parted  witli  Jacob,  never  to  see  him  again.  Jacob,  born  to 
affluence,  was  compelled,  at  the  age  of  seventy-four  years, 
to  flee  for  his  life  to  a  strange  land,  and  to  earn  his  bread  by 
servile  labor.  There  the  cheater  of  his  brother  was  cheated 
by  Laban  his  uncle.  Still  later  he  was  deceived  by  his  sons, 
even  as  he  had  deceived  his  father.  They  sold  his  best-beloved 
son  to  the  Ishmaelites,  and  then  led  him  to  believe  that  the 
lad  had  been  torn  and  devoured  by  a  wild  beast.  In  process 
of  time  Esau  abandoned  his  home  in  Canaan,  for  the  desert  of 
Edom.  We  shall  do  well  to  observe,  as  we  proceed,  that  it  is 
the  way  of  the  sacred  writers  to  record  faithfully  the  sins  and 
follies  of  the  patriarchs,  to  withhold  comment  or  censure, 
and  to  show  how,  in  due  time,  the  Almighty  visits  their 
iniquities. 

The  main  object  of  the  historian  was  to  explain  how  the 
purposes  of  God  were  accomplished,  in  opposition  to  the  per- 
verse will  of  man,  and  to  trace  out  the  course  of  Providence 
by  which  Jacob's  position  as  the  heir  of  the  covenant  was 
established.  Much  attention,  however,  has  been  given  by 
biblical  scholars  to  the  comparative  fitness  of  Jacob  and  Esau 
for  this  exalted  destiny.  It  must  be  said  that  neither  deserved 
the  distinction.  Their  offences,  if  strictly  marked,  would  have 
justly  led  to  the  rejection  of  both.  But,  as  between  the  two, 
Jacob  was  wisely  preferred.  Not  that  Esau  was  without  his 
attractive  qualities;  not  that  Jacob  was  without  his  faults. 
Esau  was  robust  and  athletic ;  he  was  manly ;  he  honored  his 
father:  and,  as  will  hereafter  appear,  he  frankly  forgave  his 
brother.  Jacob  was  wary,  calculating,  and  crafty,  he  was 
quick  to  take  advantage  of  the  hunger  of  his  brother  in  order 
to  get  the  birthright,  and  of  the  feebleness  of  his  father  in 
order  to  get  the  blessing.  It  is  a  humbling  task  to  balance  wliat 
was  good,  forgetting  what  was  evil,  in  Esau,  over  against 
wliat  was  evil,  forgetting  what  was  good,  in  Jacob.  It  is  easy 
to  challenge  the  Divine  preference  of  Jacob  over  Esau  as  the 
representative  of  the  chosen  seed.  But  it  should  be  borne  in 
mind,  that  Esau's  understanding  was  narrow,  his  appetites 
were  clamorous,  his  disposition  wayward.     He  grew  up  quite 


342  SACRED  HISTORY. 

naturally,  not  into  a  patriarch,  walking  by  faith,  but  into  a 
Bedouin  chieftain,  living  by  the  sword.  Michael  Angelo  could 
not  hew  a  Moses,  or  Canova  a  Venus,  out  of  a  block  of  pud- 
ding-stone. Esau  was  a  natural-born  sensualist  and  profane 
person.  Under  any  training,  not  supernatural,  he  would  have 
remained  Esau  to  the  end.  There  was  in  him  no  ordinary 
possibility  of  a  proper  representative  of  the  covenant,  just  as 
there  was  in  Jezebel  no  ordinary  possibility  of  an  Esther. 
Like  the  rich  man  in  the  parable,  he  sacrificed  all  he  had  which 
was  worth  having  to  his  lower  appetites.  The  rich  man  said 
to  his  soul,  "  Soul,  take  thine  ease,  eat,  drink,  and  be  merry." 
Esau  "  did  eat  and  drink,  and  rose  up  and  went  his  way."  The 
vices  of  Jacob,  his  duplicity  and  craft,  do  not  admit  of  disguise 
or  apology ;  and  yet,  withal,  he  was  gentle,  thoughtful,  patient, 
and  full  of  resources.  He  believed  God's  promises  to  Abraham ; 
he  estimated  their  value  as  above  all  price,  and  he  desired  most 
earnestly  to  inherit  them.  Imperfect  as  he  was,  a  worthy 
example  of  the  chosen  seed  could  be  made  of  him.  In  Jacob 
there  was  the  possibility  of  an  Israel,  just  as  in  Saul  of  Tarsus 
there  was  the  possibility  of  the  Paul.  He  needed  the  training 
which  comes  with  the  grace  of  God  and  with  severe  chastise- 
ment. This  training  was  applied  to  him.  The  grace  of  God 
came  to  him  in  the  theophanic  revelations  and  in  the  struggle 
at  Jabbok.  The  chastisement  was  administered  by  his  exile 
to  Padan-aram,  by  the  oppression,  fraud,  and  privations  which 
he  suffered  there,  and  by  his  unhappiness  in  Canaan,  culmi- 
nating in  the  loss  of  Joseph.  Jacob  stands  in  the  patriarchy 
as  the  representative  of  those  who  by  nature  are  no  better  than 
others,  but  who  become  the  subjects  of  irresistible  grace,  —  the 
sinning,  repenting,  struggling,  suffering  children  of  God. 


PABENTAL  ANXIETIES.  343 


CHAPTER   XXIV. 
Jacob's  exile. 

The  sacred  writer  now  turns  his  attention  to  the  period  in 
the  life  of  Jacob  which  occupied  twenty  years,  and  was  marked 
by  three  events,  —  his  flight  from  Beersheba,  his  exile  in  Padan- 
aram,  his  return  to  Canaan. 

Gen.  xxvii.  41-46.  —  His  flight  was  brought  about  by  the 
worldly  wisdom  of  his  mother.  She  told  Jacob  that  Esau  was 
taking  comfort  in  the  hope  of  being  able  to  kill  him.  She  was 
"in  terror  lest  both  of  her  sons  might  be  slain,  —  Jacob  by  the 
hand  of  Esau,  and  Esau  by  the  hand  of  the  avenger  of  blood. 
She  urged  Jacob  to  flee  from  the  country,  exclaiming,  "  Why 
should  I  be  deprived  of  ycfu  both  in  one  day  ?  "  It  does  not 
appear  that  she  communicated  her  fears  to  her  husband.  But 
she  reminded  him  of  Esau's  misalliance,  and  declared  that  her 
life,  which  had  been  a  weariness  to  her  because  of  the  daughters 
of  Heth,  Esau's  two  wives,  would  become  an  intolerable  burden 
if  Jacob  also  should  marry  a  heathen  wife.  She  persuaded 
Isaac  to  send  Jacob  away. 

Gen.  xxviii.  1-7.  —  The  old  patriarch  charged  Jacob  not  to 
take  a  wife  of  the  women  of  Canaan,  but  to  go  to  Padan-aram, 
and  marry  a  daughter  of  his  uncle  Laban,  Rebekah's  brother. 
In  bidding  his  son  adieu,  Isaac  pronounced  upon  him  and  his 
seed  all  the  blessings,  temporal  and  spiritual,  conveyed  in  the 
covenant  with  Abraham,  enlarging  the  promises  which  he  had 
just  before  uttered.  Isaac  lingered  forty-three  years  longer; 
but  nothing  more  is  said  of  him,  except  that  he  died,  and  was 
buried  by  Esau  and  Jacob,  at  the  ago  of  one  hundred  and  eighty 
years  (Gen.  xxxv.  28,  29). 


344  SACRED   ni STORY. 

Gen.  xxviii.  8,  9.  —  It  was  soon  afterwards  made  plain  that 
Esau's  connection  with  the  covenant  had  ceased.  He  saw  that 
the  advantage  over  him  which  he  had  given  to  Jacob  by  marry- 
ing two  heathen  women  would  be  fatal  to  all  his  hopes  if  Jacob 
should  marry  one  of  their  Padan-aram  cousins.  In  the  hope  of 
propitiating  his  parents,  and  recovering  the  ground  that  he  had 
lost  among  the  chosen  seed,  he  determined  to  marry  in  the 
family,  as  it  were.  He  chose  for  his  third  wife  INIahalath,  a 
daughter  of  Ishmael.  But  she  belonged  to  an  exscinded  branch 
of  Abraham's  family ;  and  in  marrying  her,  instead  of  repairing 
his  first  error,  he  made  it  irreparable.  It  completed  the  proof 
that  he  was  unfit  to  represent  the  people  of  God.  "  A  three- 
fold cord  is  not  quickly  broken."  Even  so,  Esau's  triple  mar- 
riage drew  him  away  finally  from  the  company  of  the  chosen 
seed,  and  Jacob  was  left  alone  the  true  heir  of  the  covenant. 
The  latter  was  at  that  time  seventy-seven  years  old.  Here  ter- 
minates the  significance  of  Esau's  history,  and  the  career  of 
Jacob  is  followed  by  the  sacred  writer. 

Gen.  xxviii.  10-22.  —  A  journey  of  fifty  miles  from  Beersheba 
towards  Haran  brought  Jacob  at  nightfall  to  Luz.  He  chose 
a  stone  for  a  pillow,  and  slept  in  the  open  air.  Here  he  saw,  in  a 
dream,  his  first  theophany.  A  ladder  appeared,  reaching  from 
earth  to  heaven.  Upon  it  angels  ascended  and  descended. 
Jehovah  himself  stood  above  it,  and  proclaimed  himself  to 
Jacob  to  be  the  God  of  his  fathers.  He  confirmed  to  Jacob,  in 
all  their  fulness,  the  blessings  given  to  Abraham,  even  the  land 
and  seed  of  promise,  and  a  salvation  in  that  seed  for  the  whole 
human  race.  God  promised  also  to  accompany  and  to  protect 
him  on  his  journey,  and  to  bring  him  back  to  his  native  country. 
And,  in  foresight  of  the  obstacles  to  his  return  which  should  be 
interposed  by  Esau,  and  by  his  many  trials  afterwards  in  Padan- 
aram,  Canaan,  and  Egypt,  God  added,  "  I  will  not  leave  thee 
until  I  have  done  all  that  which  I  have  spoken  to  thee."  In 
this  theophany,  Jehovah  for  the  first  time  distinctly  declared 
Jacob's  heirship  to  the  covenant,  and  his  Divine  right  to  suc- 
ceed Abraham  and  Isaac.  Again,  the  promise  in  regard  to  the 
expansion  of  the  spiritual  seed  of  the  patriarchs  was  greatly 


NEW  LIFE  AT   THE  LADDER'S  FOOT.  345 

enlarged.  It  should  reach  far  beyond  their  natural  posterity. 
It  should  overspread  the  limits  of  the  promised  land.  It  should 
be  world-wide.  "  Thou  siialt  spread  abroad  "  Qlt.^  breal:  forth) 
"  to  the  west,  and  to  the  east,  and  to  the  north,  and  to  the  south." 
Further,  the  vision  assured  Jacob  that  communication  was  now 
opened  between  Jehovah  in  heaven  and  himself,  a  helpless 
fugitive,  lying  on  the  ground.  But  it  has  a  broader  meaning. 
It  teaches  the  people  of  God  that  a  way  of  holy  fellowship  and 
communion  is  established  between  God  and  man.  The  angels 
are  the  ministers  of  grace,  passing  to  and  fro,  and  bringing  help 
in  every  time  of  need  to  God's  chosen  ones.  But  it  was  re- 
served for  Christ  to  unfold  its  most  profound  meaning.  Said 
he  to  Nathaniel,  "  Hereafter  ye  shall  see  heaven  opened,  and 
the  angels  of  God  ascending  and  descending  on  the  Son  of  man  " 
(John  i,  51).  The  vision  so  interpreted  reveals  the  person  and 
glory  of  Christ.  The  communication  between  heaven  and  earth, 
which  had  been  closed  by  sin,  was  now  opened  by  the  Son  of 
God.  The  glory  of  Christ  was  foreshown ;  and,  as  one  of  its 
signals,  angels  minister  to  him  (Luke  ii.  9-13,  xxii.  48 ;  Acts  i. 
10  ;  Matt.  XXV.  31). 

In  this  theophany  Jacob's  sj^iritual  training  was  begun.  Such 
discipline  was  the  first  necessity  of  his  position.  Without  it  he 
could  not  be  a  true  successor  to  Abraham  and  Isaac,  or  a  suit- 
able representative  of  the  covenant.  The  Divine  word  to  Abra- 
ham was :  "  I  am  the  Almighty  God ;  walk  before  me,  and  be 
thou  perfect "  (Gen.  xvii.  1).  Jacob's  conscience  full  of  guilt, 
and  his  disposition  full  of  deceit,  must  be  rebuked.  He  must 
be  born  again ;  he  must  become  an  "  Israelite  indeed,  in  whom 
tliere  is  no  guile."  To  this  end  a  revelation  of  the  majesty  of 
Jehovah  is  now  made  to  him,  extorting  the  cry,  "  How  dreadful 
is  this  place  !  "  He  was  taught  that  the  eye  of  God  was  upon 
him  in  his  most  unguarded  moments :  "  Jehovah  was  in  this 
place,  and  I  knew  it  not."  He  was  encouraged  to  pursue  a 
life  of  obedience  and  faith,  by  the  hope  that  the  angels  would 
bear  up  the  knowledge  of  his  wants  to  heaven,  and  return  laden 
with  mercies.  In  answer  to  the  vision,  he  took  the  stone  on 
which  he  had  slex)t,  and  set  it  up  for  a  memorial  pillar.     He 


346  SACBED  HISTOBT. 

consecrated  the  place  to  tlie  offices  of  worship,  and  called  it 
Bethel,  the  house  of  God.  He  also  made  this  vow :  "  If  God 
will  be  with  me,  and  will  keep  me  in  the  way  that  I  go,  and  will 
give  me  bread  to  eat,  and  raiment  to  put  on,  so  that  I  come 
again  to  my  father's  house  in  peace,  then  shall  Jehovah  be  my 
God."  The  expression,  "  If  God  will  be  with  me,"  is  not  a  con- 
dition conceived  in  a  mercenary  spirit:  it  is  the  response  of 
gratitude  to  the  promise,  "I  will  be  with  thee."  Jacob  uses 
the  preposition  "if"  as  an  equivalent  to  "inasmuch  as,"  or 
"  since,"  and  it  might  with  propriety  have  been  so  translated. 
And,  in  order  that  God's  worship  might  be  sustained,  he  set 
apart  to  that  object  one-tenth  of  all  the  wealth  that  he  should 
acquire ;  following  the  example  of  Abraham,  who  gave  tithes 
to  the  priest  of  the  most  high  God  (Gen.  xiv.  20),  anticipating 
also  the  rule  of  giving  to  pious  uses  which  was  afterwards  pre- 
scribed (Lev.  xxvii.  32).  In  the  courage  and  strength  derived 
from  the  heavenly  vision,  Jacob  resumed  his  journey. 

Gen.  xxix.  1-14.  —  The  distance  between  Bethel  and  Laban's 
house  is  computed  at  four  hundred  miles.  None  of  the  inci- 
dents of  the  journey  are  recorded ;  but,  in  describing  Jacob's 
arrival  at  Padan-aram,  the  historian  draws  a  charming  picture 
of  primitive  life  "  in  the  land  of  the  children  of  the  East."  In 
the  foreground  is  a  well.  The  weary  fugitive  from  Beer-sheba 
sits  upon  the  curb.  Flocks  of  sheep  and  goats  are  lying  around 
him.  The  shepherds  are  standing  idly  by.  A  beautiful  girl 
draws  near,  guiding  her  father's  flocks  to  the  watering.  Jacob 
hears  that  she  is  his  cousin,  Laban's  daughter.  He  rolls  the 
stone  from  the  well's  mouth,  and  waters  her  sheep.  He  tells 
her  who  he  is.  Overcome  by  his  emotions,  the  cloud  of  his 
sorrows  breaking  away,  and  thinking,  perhaps,  that  in  Rachel 
he  sees  his  future  wife,  he  kisses  her,  and  bursts  into  tears. 
Rachel  runs  to  bring  her  father  word  that  her  cousin,  from  the 
far-off  land  of  Canaan,  is  at  the  sheep-well.  Laban  hastens  to 
meet  him,  and  brings  him  to  his  home.  Jacob  tells  Laban  his 
story.  Laban  has  two  daughters.  Leah  is  the  oldest,  and  her 
eyes  are  weak ;  Rachel  is  graceful  and  beautiful. 

Gen.  xxix.  14-30.  —  Jacob  was  now  seventy-seven  years  of 


LABAN'S  GBEED  AND   TBEACHEET.  347 

age.  He  was  a  little  beyond  middle  life,  for  he  lived  until 
he  was  a  hundred  and  thirty-seven  years  old.  He  sojourned  in 
Padan-aram  not  less  than  twenty  years.  The  incidents  wliich 
filled  up  this  period  were  few  in  number,  but  marked  by  deci- 
sive indications  of  God's  overruling  providence,  and  man's 
weakness  and  unworthiness.  Jacob  became  a  servant  to  a  hard 
master.  From  the  moment  of  his  arrival,  his  activity  and 
industry  made  him  useful  to  Laban.  At  the  end  of  a  month, 
Laban  offered  to  give  him  permanent  employment  as  a  shep- 
herd. He  asked  Jacob  to  name  his  wages.  Jacob  replied,  "  I 
will  serve  thee  seven  years  for  thy  youngest  daughter."  Laban 
closed  the  contract  on  these  terms,  revealing  thus  early  his 
greedy  disposition.  Bethuel,  Laban's  father,  had  freely  given 
Rebekah,  Laban's  sister,  to  Isaac  for  a  wife ;  in  his  turn,  Laban 
disposed  of  his  daughter  by  way  of  a  bargain  and  sale.  Rachel, 
as  we  shall  see,  never  forgot  the  indignity.  "Jacob  served 
seven  years  for  Rachel ;  and  they  seemed  but  a  few  days,  for  the 
love  he  had  to  her."  At  the  end  of  seven  years  Laban  made 
a  marriage-feast.  Instead  of  Rachel,  he  gave  Leah  to  Jacob, 
by  a  fraud  which  owed  its  success  to  the  darkness  of  the  night, 
and  the  Eastern  custom  of  concealing  under  a  veil  the  person 
of  the  bride.  Laban  attempted  to  excuse  his  bad  faith  by 
appealing  to  the  custom  of  the  country,  which,  as  he  pretended, 
did  not  permit  a  younger  sister  to  be  given  in  marriage  before 
the  older.  But  this  subterfuge  does  not  excuse  Laban's  treach- 
ery, for  he  said  nothing  of  tlie  rule  in  the  original  agreement. 
In  making  the  bargain,  Laban  betrayed  his  shameless  avarice ; 
in  breaking  the  bargain,  he  betrayed  his  insufferable  treachery ; 
and  in  both,  he  showed  himself  to  be  a  grasping  and  faithless 
master.  It  was  not,  however,  open  to  Jacob  to  complain  ;  for 
Laban  had  simply  cheated  him  in  the  purchase  of  his  wife,  as 
he  had  cheated  Esau  in  the  purchase  of  the  birthright.  This 
was  the  first  in  a  series  of  manoeuvres,  in  which  the  older 
player  gets  the  best  of  the  game  for  nearly  twenty  years ;  but 
in  the  end  the  tables  are  turned.  The  record  is  not  pleasant ; 
it  is  the  story  of  a  match  between  craft  and  craft.^     Laban  then 

1  Cancllisli:  Genesis,  vol.  ii.  p.  21. 


348  SACEED  HISTORY. 

offered  to  give  Rachel  to  him  in  consideration  of  another  term 
of  service  fur  seven  years.  Jacob  consented;  and  Rachel 
became  his  wife  on  the  eighth  day  after  his  marriage  to  Leah 
(xxix.  28).  It  is  right  to  conjecture  that  Jacob,  with  his  usual 
shrewdness,  demanded  the  reward  of  his  labors  in  advance,  lest 
he  should  be  defrauded  again  by  his  father-in-law. 

Gen.  XXX.  25-41.  —  At  the  end  of  his  second  term  of  service, 
Jacob  asked  Labau  to  allow  him  to  return  to  his  own  country, 
with  his  wives  and  children ;  for,  said  he,  "  thou  knowest  my 
service  wdiich  I  have  done  thee."  Laban  urged  him  to  remain 
with  this  remark  :  "  I  have  learned  by  experience  "  (or  "  I  have 
divined,"  Rev.  Ver.')  "that  the  Lord  hath  blessed  me  for  thy 
sake."  They  came  to  an  agreement  in  regard  to  the  wages, 
and  Jacob  served  Laban  six  years  longer.  The  bargain  was 
exceedingly  profitable  to  Jacob  ;  but  Laban,  with  his  character- 
istic bad  faith,  repeatedly  changed  the  terms,  for  the  purpose 
of  repressing  his  nephew. 

Gen.  xxix.  31-36,  xxx.  1-24.  —  The  unhappiness  in  Jacob's 
family  w^as  a  conspicuous  feature  of  his  sojourn  in  Padan-aram. 
His  early  and  -constant  love  for  Rachel,  the  long  service  to 
which  he  submitted  in  order  to  secure  her  as  his  wife,  and  the 
fraud  which  Laban  practised  upon  him  at  the  marriage-feast, 
led  Jacob  into  polygamy.  Polygamy  was  one  of  the  habits  of 
the  time.  The  marriage  of  two  sisters,  both  living,  to  one 
man,  however  repugnant  to  the  sensibilities,  was  not  held  to 
be  incestuous  until  prohibited  by  the  law  given  at  Sinai  long 
after  Jacob's  day  (Lev.  xviii.  18).  But  the  unavoidable  evils 
of  a  double  marriage  declared  themselves  very  early  in  the 
family.  Leah  was  hated,  and  Rachel  was  loved.  Of  the  two 
women,  Leah  was  the  more  worthy.  She  was  vehement  in  her 
love  to  Jacob,  notwithstanding  his  indifference  to  her.  Leah 
became  the  mother  of  four  sons  in  quick  succession,  but  Rachel 
was  childless.  And  so  it  happened  that  Leah  was  jealous  of 
Rachel,  and  Rachel  was  envious  of  Leah.  Rachel's  impetuosity 
led  her  astray  in  two  directions.  She  taunted  Jacob  with  her 
childlessness,  and  Jacob  reprimanded  her  angrily  for  casting 
on  him  the  reproach  which  the  Almighty  had  laid  upon  laer. 


JACOB'S   CIIILDBEN. 


349 


Kurtz  suggests  that  Rachel's  sensitiveness  arose  from  the  fear 
lest  she  might  be  excluded,  by  her  want  of  offspring,  from  any 
share  in  the  blessings  pronounced  on  the  chosen  seed.  And 
yet  it  may  be  well  said,  that,  by  faith,  Rachel  should  have 
waited  patiently  for  the  promised  seed.  She  should  have  re- 
membered that  Isaac  was  not  born  until  Sarah  had  been  mar- 
ried twenty-five  years,  and  Jacob  was  not  born  until  Rebekah 
had  been  married  twenty  years.  But  in  her  impatience  she 
gave  her  handmaid  Bilhah  to  Jacob  as  a  wife  in  the  second 
degree,  and  adopted  as  her  own  Bilhah's  two  sons  that  were 
afterwards  born  to  her.  Jacob  consented  to  the  arrangement, 
perhaps  in  the  hope  of  appeasing  Rachel,  and  silencing  Leah's 
boasts.  But  Leah,  believing  that  Judah,  her  fourth  son,  was 
her  last  child,  gave  her  handmaid  Zilpah  to  Jacob  as  a  wife 
in  the  same  degree,  and  adopted  the  two  sons  to  whom  she 
gave  birth.  Thus  the  family  troubles,  arising  from  a  double 
marriage,  were  aggravated  by  the  mischiefs  of  a  double  con- 
cubinage. And  these  evils  were  the  fruits  of  inexcusable 
unbelief,  as  was  afterwards  made  clear.  For,  in  answer  to 
special  prayer,  Rachel  became  the  mother  of  Joseph  and  Benja- 
min, and  Leah  became  the  mother  of  two  sons  and  a  daughter 
in  addition  to  the  four  older  children.  The  feuds  and  strifes, 
recorded  and  unrecorded,  which  entered  the  household  through 
these  open  doors,  turned  it  into  a  school  of  affliction  and 
discipline  for  Jacob. 

Gen.  xxix.  31-35,  xxx.  1-24.  —  Thirteen  children  were  born 
to  Jacob.  They  were  distributed  among  his  four  families  in 
the  order  of  their  mothers :  thus,  — 


Leah's. 

Zilpah's 

Rachel's. 

BrLHAH'S 

{Leah's  maid). 

(Rachel's  maid). 

Reuben. 

Gad. 

Joseph. 

Dan. 

Simeon. 

T  ,P171 

Asher. 

Benjamin. 

Naphtali. 

iJC  VI. 

Judah. 

Issachar. 

Zebiiluu. 

Dinah. 

850  SACRED  HISTORY. 

This  family  register  casts  light  upon  various  particulars  in 
the  narrative.  The  thirteen  children  were  born  in  Padan- 
aram,  Benjamin  only  excepted,  whose  birth  near  Bethel  cost 
Rachel  her  life  (Gen.  xxxv.  18).  They  were  all  born  within 
the  period  of  thirteen  years ;  for  Jacob  was  married  seven  years 
after  his  arrival  in  the  country,  and  he  sojourned  there  twenty 
years  (Gen.  xxxi.  38).  The  name  of  only  one  daughter, 
Dinah,  appears  in  the  register  ;  but  it  is  conjectured  that  other 
daughters  were  born  to  Jacob  (chap,  xxxvii.  35,  xlvi.  7).  Two 
of  Leah's  sons  became  the  progenitors  of  the  most  prominent 
tribes  in  the  commonwealth  of  Israel :  Judah,  the  ancestor  of 
Christ ;  and  Levi,  the  founder  of  the  sacerdotal  order.  The 
tribe  of  Rachel's  son  Joseph  was  hardly  inferior  to  these  in 
historical  significance.  The  twelve  sons  were  put  upon  a  foot- 
ing of  equality,  without  regard  to  the  position  of  their  mothers, 
whether  wives  or  servants.  They  were  all  the  children  of 
Jacob,  and  the  promise  was  to  him  and  his  seed  after  him. 
In  a  few  instances  only  was  any  discrimination  made  among 
them,  grounded  on  the  rank  of  their  mothers.  Their  names 
are  twice  arranged  iaccording  to  that  rank  (Gen.  xxxv.  23-26 ; 
Exod.  i.  2-4).  Again,  by  way  of  accounting  for  the  hostility 
of  the  brothers  against  Joseph,  it  is  mentioned  that  the  lad 
had  reported  to  their  father  the  bad  conduct  of  the  sons  of  the 
concubines  Bilhah  and  Zilpah.  In  one  other  instance  regard 
was  paid  to  the  rank  of  the  brothers.  When  the  children  of 
Israel  were  in  the  wilderness,  Moses  divided  the  twelve  tribes 
into  four  "  camps,"  tln-ee  tribes  in  each.  To  these  camps  he 
assigned  positions  in  the  order  of  march  when  the  host  was 
in  motion,  and  posted  them  around  the  tabernacle  when  they 
were  at  rest.  In  making  up  the  camps,  Moses  took  care  to  put 
three  of  the  tribes  descending  from  the  maids  together ;  and 
the  tribe  of  Gad,  son  of  Leah's  maid,  was  associated  with  the 
tribes  of  Leah's  sons  Reuben  and  Simeon,  Gad's  half-brothers. 
But  on  every  important  occasion  the  perfect  equality,  each  to 
each,  of  the  twelve  tribes,  was  not  disturbed  by  the  accident  of 
birth.  The  exceptions  are  introduced  here  to  show  the  studied 
accuracy  of  the  historian,  and  to  point  out  a  few  of  the  linhs, 
too  often  unnoticed,  which  give  unity  to  the  narrative. 


INNER  LIFE  OF  THE  FAMILY.  351 

This  register  is  valuable  for  the  light  which  it  casts  upon  the 
inner  life  of  the  family.  Jacob's  alienation  from  Leah,  shortly 
after  her  marriage,  is  to  be  referred  to  her  participation  in  the 
fraud  whereby  she  became  his  wife,  and  to  his  preference  for 
Rachel.  Her  unhappiness  discovers  itself  in  the  name  which 
she  gave  to  her  first-born  son.  She  called  him  Reuben  (behold, 
a  son  !),  for  she  said,  "  Surely  Jehovah  will  look  upon  my  afflic- 
tion; now,  therefore,  my  husband  will  love  me."  How  sharp 
was  her  disappointment  in  this  hope,  appears  at  the  birth  of 
her  second  son.  She  called  him  Simeon  (hearing),  "because" 
said  she,  "  Jehovah  hath  heard  that  I  am  hated,  he  hath  there- 
fore given  me  this  son  also."  The  poor  wife  took  courage 
when  her  third  son  was  born,  saying,  "  Now  this  time  will  my 
husband  be  joined  to  me  ; "  therefore  was  his  name  called  Levi 
(attachment).  The  cloud  was  lifted  at  last.  When  her  fourth 
son  was  born,  her  heart  broke  forth  in  praise :  "  Now  will  T 
praise  Jehovah,"  therefore  she  called  him  Judah  (praise).  Still 
later  we  discover  the  joy  of  Rachel  when  she  named  the  first 
son  of  her  maid  Dan  (judge)  ;  "  for  God  hath  judged  me,  and 
given  me  a  son."  We  hear  her  exultations  over  Leah  when 
she  called  the  second  son  of  her  maid,  Naphtali  (wrestling)  ; 
"wrestling  with  my  sister."  And  the  unamiable  reply  to 
Rachel  comes  from  Leah  in  the  names  which  she  gave  to  the 
two  sons  of  her  maid :  Gad  (fortune)  and  Asher  (happy  am  I). 
Afterwards  Leah  called  a  son  Issachar  (my  hire),  "  because 
I  have  given  my  maid  to  my  husband."  To  another  she  gave 
the  name  Zebulun  (dwelling),  saying,  "  Now  will  my  husband 
dwell  with  me,  because  I  have  borne  him  six  sons."  The  list 
ends  with  Rachel's  two  sons,  —  Joseph  (adding),  so  called 
because  in  his  birth  his  mother  saw  the  promise  of  another  son ; 
and  Benjamin  (son  of  happiness).  It  so  occurred  that  the 
names  of  these  children,  and  of  the  tribes  which  they  founded, 
perpetuated  the  memory  of  the  jealousies,  strifes,  and  unseemly 
exultations  which  prevailed  in  the  bosom  of  this  unhappy  fam- 
ily. The  melancholy  story  vindicates  the  subsequent  prohibi- 
tion of  polygamy  as  inevitably  hostile  to  the  marriage  relation 
and  to  the  peace  and  purity  of  the  family. 


352  S ACE  ED  HISTORY. 

Geist.  XXX.  25-43.  —  The  worldly  prosperity  which  at  last 
came  to  Jacob  is  a  leading  feature  in  his  story.  At  the  end  of 
his  second  term  of  service,  he  asked  Laban  to  permit  him  to 
return  to  Canaan,  taking  with  him  his  famil3^  Laban,  we  have 
seen,  urged  him  to  remain ;  not  that  he  was  reluctant  to  part 
with  his  daughters,  but  for  a  reason  wholly  mercenary,  —  the 
pecuniary  value  to  him  of  Jacob's  services.  At  Laban's  urgent 
request  Jacob  consented  to  remain,  on  the  condition  that  he 
should  receive  for  his  wages  all  the  speckled  and  spotted  goats 
and  sheep  in  Laban's  flocks.  Laban  had  some  good  reason  to 
believe  that  he  himself  had  gotten  the  best  of  the  bargain ; 
party-colored  cattle  being  at  that  time,  though  not  now,  rare  in 
the  East.  The  sheep  were  anciently  white,  and  the  goats  black 
or  brown ,  rarely  were  any  of  them  spotted.  Jacob,  however, 
resorted  to  artifices  whereby  he  gradually  secured  to  himself  by 
far  the  larger  part,  as  well  as  the  most  thrifty,  of  the  animals. 
The  secret  of  his  devices  is  not  divulged.  To  what  extent  he 
availed  himself  of  his  knowledge  of  animal  economy,  cannot 
be  determined.  Jacob  himself  referred  his  success  to  the  inter- 
position of  Providence  (xxxi.  9-12).  As  it  turned  out,  Laban 
got  no  advantage  of  his  nephew  Although  he  changed  the 
conditions  of  the  employment  as  many  as  "ten  times  "  according 
to  Jacob's  statement,  the  grasping  old  man  took  nothing  by  his 
dishonesty.  At  the  end  of  six  years  Jacob  was  wealthy.  "  He 
increased  exceedingly,  and  had  much  cattle,  and  maid-servants 
and  men-servants,  and  camels  and  asses."  More  definite  infor- 
mation is  contained  in  Gen.  xxxii.  14,  15,  where  it  appears  that 
Jacob  sent  a  present  to  Esau  of  more  than  five  hundred  and 
fifty  cattle.  Jacob's  prosperity  led  to  an  important  crisis  in  his 
history. 

Gen.  xxxi.  1-21.  —  The  time  had  now  fully  come  for  the 
return  of  Jacob  to  his  native  country.  His  permanent  settle- 
ment in  Mesopotamia  was  forbidden  by  the  plan  of  Providence 
which  had  assigned  the  land  of  Canaan  to  the  promised  seed. 
And  yet  the  life  of  Jacob  seemed  to  be  taking  a  turn  out  of 
harmony  with  that  plan.  He  had  been  an  absentee  for  at  least 
twenty  years.     He  had  become  identified  with  Mesopotamia  by 


ESCAPE  FROM  PADAJST-ARAM.  353 

his  plural  marriages  and  by  the  birth  of  eleven  children  there. 
A  man  of  his  thrift  might  be  sorely  tempted  to  make  a  permanent 
home  in  the  midst  of  luxuriant  pastures  covered  with  flocks 
and  herds.  He  might  reasonably  expect  to  become  a  wealthy 
and  powerful  sheik.  Peculiar  dangers,  withal,  threatened  his 
family.  IJis  kindred  were  native-born  idolaters,  and  so  were 
his  wives.  Rachel,  it  is  certain,  clung  for  a  season  to  her  false 
gods.  Six  of  his  children  were  from  five  to  twelve  years  of 
age,  and  they  and  their  younger  brothers  as  they  grew  up 
would  be  exposed  to  the  contagion  of  idolatry.  Jacob  could 
not  return  too  soon  to  his  native  land.  Happily  for  himself,  as 
the  representative  of  the  covenant,  he  was  led  in  good  time  to 
quit  Mesopotamia. 

Angry  words  uttered  by  Laban's  sons  in  regard  to  his  in- 
creasihg  wealth  were  repeated  to  him.  He  discovered,  also,  in 
Laban  himself,  always  a  hard  master,  signs  of  hostility  towards 
him.  And,  what  was  decisive,  he  received  from  the  Almighty 
a  peremptory  command  to  go  back  to  Canaan  without  delay. 
He  called  his  wives  into  the  field  where  he  was  feeding  his 
flocks,  for  a  private  conference.  He  said  to  them,  substantially, 
"  Your  father  is  no  longer  my  friend.  I  have  served  him  faith- 
fully, and  in  return  he  has  changed  my  stipulated  wages  ten  times. 
God,  who  has  protected  me  from  harm  and  has  transferred  to  me 
all  these  flocks,  now  commands  me  to  return  to  the  land  of  my 
own  kindred."  Rachel  and  Leah  replied,  not  without  bitter- 
ness, that  they  had  no  longer  any  inheritance  in  their  father's 
house ;  their  father,  instead  of  generously  endowing  them  with 
marriage  gifts,  had  sold  them  to  Jacob  long  before  they  became 
his  wives,  as  if  they  were  servants  to  be  bought  and  sold ;  the 
property  which  God  had  taken  from  him  and  given  to  Jacob 
belonged  to  them  and  their  children.  "  Now,  then,"  said  they, 
"whatsoever  God  hath  said  to  thee,  that  do." 

Gen.  xxxi.  22-55.  —  The  manner  of  Jacob's  departure  was 
not  such  as  became  a  manly  man,  least  of  all  one  who  knew 
that  he  was  obeying  the  direction  of  the  Almighty,  and  was 
under  his  special  protection.  Dr.  Candlish  says,  "  He  must 
needs  play  the  part  of  a  cowardly  fugitive,  escaping  as  a  thief 


354  SACEEB  HISTORY. 

under  the  cloud  of  niglit."  This  severe  comment  is  borne  out 
by  the  record,  "  And  Jacob  stole  away  unawares  to  Laban  the 
Syrian,  in  that  he  told  him  not  that  he  fled."  Laban  at  that 
time  was  gone  to  shear  his  sheep.  Jacob  stole  away,  taking 
with  him  his  wives  and  children,  and  the  many  herds  of  cattle 
which  he  had  gathered  during  his  last  term  of  service.  He 
crossed  the  Euphrates,  and  went  towards  the  region  east  of  the 
Jordan.  Rachel  in  her  father's  absence  from  home,  without 
Jacob's  knowledge  or  consent,  robbed  Laban  of  his  teraphim, 
and  hid  them  in  the  luggage  carried  by  the  camel  on  which 
she  rode.  The  teraphim  were  small  images,  worshipped  in  the 
family  and  consulted  as  oracles,  not  unlike  the  penates,  or 
household  gods,  of  the  Romans ;  "  such  as  JEneas  carried  out 
of  Troy."  Rachel  took,  also,  other  objects  of  superstitious 
observances  ;  for  example,  rings  and  armlets  (xxxv.  2-4). 
Laban  did  not  hear  of  Jacob's  escape  until  he  had  been  gone 
two  days.  Taking  with  him  a  troop  of  his  kinsmen,  he  set  off 
in  the  pursuit.  On  the  seventh  day  he  overtook  the  fugitives 
at  Mount  Gilead.  He  tried  to  pick  a  quarrel  with  Jacob. 
In  a  tirade  of  mingled  hypocrisy  and  parental  emotion,  he 
charged  Jacob  with  having  hurried  away  his  daughters  as  if 
they  were  captives  taken  in  war,  and  with  having  prevented 
him  from  doing  honor  to  their  departure,  and  bidding  them 
farewell  in  a  feast,  with  music  and  song,  and  a  parting  kiss. 
Laban  added  that  it  was  in  his  power  to  avenge  himself ;  but 
he  had  been  deterred  from  doing  that  by  a  warning  from  the 
Almighty.  Li  a  bitter  sarcasm  he  said  to  Jacob,  "  You  went 
away  because  you  had  such  a  longing  for  your  father's  house, 
but  why  did  you  steal  my  gods  ?  "  Jacob  replied  that  he  had 
fled  clandestinely  because  he  was  afraid  that  Laban  would  take 
his  wives  away  from  him.  He  then  challenged  Laban  to  search 
the  tents  for  his  idols.  Jacob  threatened  death  to  the  offender ; 
revealing  both  his  ignorance  of  Rachel's  theft,  and  the  power 
of  life  and  death  claimed  by  the  patriarch.  A  thorough  search 
was  made  in  the  tents  of  all  the  family ;  but  Rachel,  who  was 
more  than  a  match  for  her  father  in  craft,  contrived  to  hide  the 
sacred  plunder.    Thereupon  Jacob,  being  himself  deceived  by 


BECONCILIATION.  355 

Rachel,  turned  in  anger  upon  Laban.  He  resents  liis  insulting 
search,  in  terms  which  it  was  proper  for  hiiA  to  use,  believing, 
as  he  did,  that  Rachel  was  innocent  as  charged  by  her  father. 
Having  done  that,  he  turned  upon  Laban  with  becoming  bold- 
ness, and  said  in  effect,  "I  have  been  with  you  twenty  years. 
Through  my  watchfulness  your  ewes  and  she-goats  have  not 
lost  their  young.  I  have  not  eaten  the  rams,  according  to  the 
habit  of  the  faithless  shepherds  [Ezek.  xxxiv.  3].  I  did  not 
charge  to  your  account  the  cattle  that  were  killed  by  wild 
beasts :  I  bore  the  loss  myself.  You  required  me  to  make  good 
all  that  were  slain  by  day  or  by  night ;  even  though  by  day 
the  heat  consumed  me,  and  the  frost  b}^  night,  and  sleep  de- 
parted from  mine  eyes.  I  have  been  twenty  years  in  your 
service,  —  fourteen  years  for  your  two  daughters,  and  six  years 
for  your  cattle,  —  and  you  have  changed  my  wages  ten  times. 
Except  the  God  of  my  father  had  been  with  me,  you  had 
sent  me  away  a  pauper.  God  has  seen  my  labor  and  afflic- 
tions ;  you  he  rebuked  last  night."  This  is  no  doubt  a  manly 
utterance ;  and  yet  it  would  have  been  not  less  manly  if 
Jacob  had  frankly  acknowledged  that  he  had  met  craft  by 
craft,  and  deceit  by  deceit.  He  had  come  far  short  of  the  rule 
laid  down  in  Prov.  xx.  22.  Laban,  however,  intimidated  by 
the  Divine  warning  of  the  night  before,  proposed  to  Jacob  a 
covenant  of  reconciliation.  The  offer  was  accepted.  The 
kinsmen  of  both  parties  present  built  a  cairn  of  stones.  Laban 
called  it  in  the  Chaldee,  a  "heap  of  witness;"  and  Jacob 
called  it  in  Hebrew,  JNIizpah,  a  "  watch-tower."  The  parties 
exchanged  promises  of  perpetual  good-will  and  amity.  The 
ceremony  was  closed  with  a  sacrifice  and  a  feast  of  love. 
Early  in  the  morning  Laban  kissed  his  daughters  and  his 
grandsons,  and  blessed  them,  and  went  to  his  own  land.  The 
separation  was  final  ;  the  isolation  from  his  kindred  which  was 
enforced  on  Abraham  entered  into  the  experience  of  Jacob, 
and  into  that  of  his  wives  and  children. 

Gen.  xxxii.  1,  2.  —  We  hear  nothing  more  of  Jacob  until  he 
reached  the  borders  of  Eastern  Palestine.  He  encamped  a  few 
miles  north  of  the   River  Jabbok,  now  known  as  the  Zerka, 


856  SACRED  niSTOEY. 

which  flows  into  the  Jordan  about  midway  between  the  Sea 
of  Galilee  and  the  Dead  Sea.  Here  he  became  conscious  of 
an  impending  danger  more  formidable  than  the  displeasure 
of  Laban,  —  the  wrath  of  Esau.  When  he  parted  from  his 
mother,  twenty  years  before,  she  promised  to  send  for  him 
when  Esau's  anger  should  be  appeased.  But  it  would  seem 
that  she  had  never  encouraged  him  to  return  to  Canaan ;  and 
she  was  now  dead.  The  danger  was  imminent :  Jacob  knew 
that  Esau  was  in  Mount  Seir,  distant  only  a  few  days'  journey. 
At  that  moment  the  angels  of  God  met  him,  and  the  visit  was 
in  good  time.  Their  presence  reminded  him,  perhaps,  of  the 
ascending  and  descending  angels  which  he  saw  at  Bethel ;  and 
of  the  voice  of  God  promising  protection  on  his  journey,  and  a 
safe  return  to  his  own  land.  He  said,  "  This  is  God's  host." 
He  called  the  place  Mahanaim,  —  "two  camps;"  one  camp  for 
himself,  and  the  other  pitched  near  by  for  the  angels.  The  war- 
like terms,  "  God's  host "  and  "  Mahanaim,"  point  to  an  outstand- 
ing controversy,  an  impending  conflict,  and  a  sure  protection. 

Geist.  xxxii.  3-12. — With  his  habitual  forethought,  Jacob 
sent  word  to  Esau  announcing  his  return.  After  the  manner 
of  Oriental  courtesy,  he  directed  his  messengers  to  address  his 
brother  as  "  my  lord,"  and  to  express  the  desire  that  Jacob 
might  "find  grace  in  his  sight."  They  brought  back  the 
unwelcome  news  that  Esau  was  marching  upon  him  at  the 
head  of  a  column  of  four  hundred  men.  Jacob  sought  to 
meet  the  emergency  by  measures  of  precaution,  prayer  to  God, 
and  conciliation  towards  Esau.  By  way  of  precaution,  he 
divided  his  caravan  into  two  companies,  and  posted  them  apart 
from  each  other ;  so  that,  if  Esau  should  fall  upon  the  one, 
the  other  might  escape.  He  then  betook  himself  to  God ;  and 
his  prayer  is  exceedingly  comprehensive  and  beautiful,  a  model 
of  Old-Testament  prayer  in  all  its  parts.  The  invocation  is: 
"  O  God  of  my  father  Abraham,  and  God  of  my  father  Isaac, 
Jehovah  which  saidst  unto  me.  Return  unto  thy  country  and  to 
thy  kindred,  and  I  will  deal  well  with  thee."  The  oonfession 
is :  "I  am  not  worthy  of  the  least  of  all  thy  mercies,  and  of 
all  the  truth  which  thou  hast  showed  unto  thy  servant."     Then 


PRAYER    TO    GOD,    AJ^D   GIFTS   TO   ESAU.  357 

follows  a  thankful  acknowledgment  of  God's  mercy :  "  For 
with  my  staff  I  passed  over  this  Jordan,  but  now  I  am  two 
bands."  The  supplication  is :  "  Deliver  me,  I  pray  thee,  from 
the  hand  of  my  brother,  from  the  hand  of  Esau  ;  for  I  fear 
him  lest  he  will  come  and  smite  me,  and  the  mother  with  the 
children."  The  plea  is :  "  Thou  saidst,  I  will  surely  do  thee 
good,  and  make  thy  seed  as  the  sand  of  the  sea,  which  cannot 
be  numbered  for  multitude." 

Gen.  xxxii.  13-23.  —  In  the  hope  of  conciliating  Esau, 
Jacob  selected  from  his  herds  more  than  five  hundred  and  fifty 
animals, — goats,  sheep,  camels,  beeves,  and  asses  judiciously 
assorted.  These  he  divided  into  three  separate  droves,  and 
sent  them  as  gifts  to  Esau.  In  order,  by  successive  appeals, 
to  mitigate  the  anger  of  Esau,  Jacob  directed  the  drivers  to 
put  a  certain  distance  between  drove  and  drove,  and  to  present 
one  by  one,  at  proper  intervals  of  time,  to  his  brother.  Each 
driver,  in  turn,  was  to  say,  "  These  be  thy  servant  Jacob's ;  it 
is  a  present  sent  unto  my  lord  Esau ;  and,  behold,  also  he  is 
behind  us." 

Jacob  followed  the  caravan  which  conveyed  these  magnificent 
presents,  as  far  as  the  torrent  Jabbok.  Under  cover  of  the 
night,  he  conveyed  his  entire  family  with  all  his  possessions 
across  the  stream,  and  then  returned  to  the  northern  shore. 
He  was  alone,  and  the  darkness  was  over  him.  Here  he  was 
taught  that  Jehovah  had  a  controversy  with  him  far  more 
alarming  than  that  waged  by  Esau.  This  controversy  had  been 
of  long  standing,  and  was  now  to  be  settled.  God  would  not 
suffer  him  to  return  to  Canaan  while  he  was  the  double-dealingr 
Jacob  who  had  fled  long  since  from  Beersheba,  and  who  had 
now,  under  cover  of  the  night,  escaped  from  Aram.  He  \vas 
not  fit  to  inherit  the  blessings  and  responsibilities  of  the 
covenant  so  long  as  he  was  in  the  habit  of  resorting  to  crooked 
ways  to  accomplish  his  purposes,  instead  of  relying  on  God, 
who  had  repeatedly  promised  to  keep  him  in  all  his  journeys. 
The  night  which  Jacob  spent  at  the  Jabbok  is  memorable  for 
the  course  of  Divine  discipline  by  which  he  was  fitted  for  the 
land  of  promise. 


358  SACBED  HISTOEY. 

Gex.  xxxii.  24-32.  —  There  are  mysteries  in  this  transaction 
which  remain  unexplained.  And  yet  it  was  marked  by  certain 
intelligible  incidents.  It  is  plain,  for  example,  that  the  struggle 
of  might  and  main  which  occurred  was  no  hallucination,  no 
subjective  vision  or  troubled  dream.  Its  objective  reality  is 
proved  by  the  fact  that  Jacob  came  out  of  it  with  a  dislocated 
thigh,  and  was  lamed  for  life.  His  antagonist  was  at  first  The 
Unknown.  Jacob  thought  him  to  be  a  man ;  but  he  is  called 
the  angel  by  Hosea  (xii.  4),  and  was  recognized  by  Jacob  at 
the  break  of  day  as  God:  "I  have  seen  God  face  to  face." 
His  acts  and  words,  moreover,  were  Divine.  At  his  super- 
natural touch,  the  hollow  of  Jacob's  thigh  was  "  strained,"  so 
the  last  revision  translates  the  text.  His  hip-bone  was  dis- 
jointed, according  to  the  reading  of  the  Authorized  Version, 
supported  by  Keil,  Kurtz,  Alford,  and  Murphy.  He  blessed 
Jacob,  and  gave  him  a  new  name,  Israel ;  "  for  thou  hast  striven 
with  God  and  man,  and  hast  prevailed."  We  have  before  us, 
therefore,  a  true  theophany,  and  a  new  proof  of  the  identity 
of  the  angel  with  Jehovah. 

The  conflict  passed  through  two  stages,  —  one,  outward  or 
physical ;  the  other,  inward  or  spiritual.  In  the  first  instance, 
described  by  the  phrase  "  there  wrestled  a  man  with  him,"  the 
encounter  was  almost,  but  not  altogether,  a  bodily  struggle. 
The  second  stage,  introduced  by  the  touching  of  Jacob's  hip- 
bone, was  altogether  a  spiritual  wrestling.  In  the  earlier  part 
of  the  night,  the  Divine  Being  made  as  if  he  would  allow  Jacob 
to  conquer;  but  at  the  break  of  day  the  angel  touched  his 
thigh,  and  the  lever  of  his  strength  was  broken  at  the  fulcrum. 
Jacob  could  not  stand  alone.  He  was  overmastered.  This  was 
the  crisis,  the  turning-point.  Jacob's  self-confidence  was  re- 
buked, crushed  out.  The  conflict,  which  in  the  first  stage  was 
outward  and  physical,  gave  place,  in  the  second,  to  the  inward 
and  spiritual ;  the  stout-hearted  and  muscular  athlete  became 
the  broken-hearted  and  crippled  suppliant.  He  clung  convul- 
sively to  the  angel ;  he  would  not  be  shaken  off.  He  put  on 
a  new  strength, — the  strength  that  comes  of  tears  and  entrea- 
ties.    Hosea  describes  the  spectacle :  "  He  took  his  brother  by 


JACOB  BECOMES  ISRAEL.  359 

the  heel  in  the  womb,  and  by  his  strength  he  had  power  witli 
God :  yea,  he  had  power  over  the  angel,  and  prevailed :  he 
wept,  and  made  supplication  unto  him"  (Hos.  xii.  3,  4).  We 
hear  the  angel  saying,  "Let  me  go,  for  the  day  breaketh." 
We  hear  Jacob's  reply,  "  I  will  not  let  thee  go  till  thou  bless 
me."  The  Divine  wrestler  could  paralyze  the  sinews  and  dis- 
locate the  bones  of  his  intrepid  adversary  ;  but  he  could  not 
resist  the  entreaties  of  the  helpless,  clinging,  weeping  sufferer. 
When  Jacob  contended  with  the  Almighty,  in  a  match  of  mus- 
cular strength,  he  was  defeated  hip  and  thigh :  when  he  turned 
from  muscle  to  prayer,  he  conquered.  He  won  the  blessing  of 
God,  and  with  it  a  new  name  :  "  Thou  shalt  be  called  no  more 
Jacob  "  (the  supplanter),  "  but  Israel "  (the  prince  of  God)  ; 
"for  as  a  prince  thou  hast  power  with  God  and  with  men,  and 
hast  prevailed."  The  profound  remark  of  Ewald  on  the  narra- 
tive is,  "  Man  knows  no  real  or  inalienable  possession  but  that 
which  he  has  won  rather  from  God  than  from  man,  and  which 
is  thus  made  a  part  of  his  very  life  and  soul." 

The  memory  of  this  theophany  is  perpetuated  by  many  his- 
torical monuments.  First,  the  place  was  called  Peniel  by 
Jacob,  and  was  known  as  such  for  nearly  eight  hundred  years : 
Peniel  is  the  face  of  God.  Gideon;  in  his  campaign  against 
Midian,  found  a  tower  standing  there  which  he  destroyed 
(Judg.  viii.  17).  Long  afterwards,  Jeroboam  fortified  the  place 
(1  Kings  xii.  25).  Next,  these  incidents  explain  the  refusal  of 
Jacob's  posterity  to  eat,  as  animal  food,  the  ".sinew  which 
shrank;"  an  abstinence  which  is  religiously  observed  by  the 
Jews  to  this  day.  Again,  the  chosen  seed  took  from  that  good 
hour  new  and  honored  patronymics,  —  Israel,  Israelites,  the 
children  of  Israel.  In  the  subsequent  scriptures,  the  names 
Jacob  and  Israel  are  used  interchangeably  ;  with  the  difference, 
that,  to  a  certain  extent,  when  the  patriarch  is  spoken  of  indi- 
vidually, he  is  called  Jacob ;  when  the  communit}^  is  spoken  of, 
they  are  called  Israel.  Further,  the  traces  which  Jacob's  expe- 
rience at  Peniel  left  upon  his  person  and  character  are  plainly 
marked.  He  "  halted  upon  his  thigh  "  to  the  end  of  life  ;  a 
memento  of  his  past  weakn.ess,  of  his  mortal  combat  and  signal 


860  SACRED  HISTORY. 

defeat.  And  yet  tins  incident  is  hardly  worthy  of  mention, 
compared  with  the  supernatural  change  which  was  wrought 
upon  his  character.  He  represented,  in  his  person,  the  two 
men  described  by  Paul,  the  old  man  and  the  new  man  (Eph. 
iv.  22).  The  old  man  was  the  fruit  of  the  natural  birth,  the 
other  was  the  fruit  of  the  new  birth.  The  old  man  in  Jacob 
was  tricky,  deceitful,  timid ;  the  new  in  Israel  was  open,  frank, 
courageous.  Dating  from  Peniel  we  can  discover  little  or 
nothing  of  the  guile  by  which  he  won  the  blessing  from  his 
father,  or  of  the  cunning  by  which  he  got  the  better  of 
Laban.  Into  his  plan  of  life  he  incorporated  steadfastness 
of  purpose,  jDurity  of  motive,  and  uncalculating  submission  to 
the  Divine  will.  His  humility  expressed  itself  in  the  prayer : 
"I  am  not  worthy  of  the  least  of  all  thy  mercies,  and  of  all 
the  truth  which  thou  hast  showed  unto  thy  servant"  (Gen. 
xxxii.  10). 

Gen.  xxxiii.  1-17.  —  The  historian  proceeds  at  once  to  the 
reconciliation  of  the  brothers.  The  narrative  fills  the  imagin- 
ation with  a  beautiful  picture  in  Oriental  coloring.  Esau  ap- 
proaches with  his  four  hundred  warriors.  Jacob  draws  near, 
bowing  seven  times  to  the  ground  before  Esau.  Esau  runs  to 
meet  him,  and  embraces  him,  and  falls  on  his  neck  and  kisses 
him,  and  they  both  weep  together.  Jacob  presents  his  wives 
and  children  to  his  brother,  and  they  offer  the  usual  obeisance. 
Jacob  urges  his  present  upon  Esau ;  Esau  accepts  the  gift  with 
kindly  reluctance,  and  offers  in  return  to  escort  Jacob  into  the 
land  of  Canaan.  Jacob  declines  the  courtesy  in  friendly  terms, 
and  engages,  after  he  shall  be  settled  in  Canaan,  to  visit  his 
brother  in  Mount  Seir.  Jacob  undoubtedly  ascribed  to  the 
interposition  of  Jehovah  the  sudden  change  which  had  occurred 
in  his  brother's  disposition.  He  had  prevailed  with  God,  and 
by  the  help  of  God  had  prevailed  with  Esau.  Esau  returned 
to  his  encampment  in  Mount  Seir.  Jacob,  in  peace  with  his 
brother,  proceeded  to  Succoth  (or  the  Booths),  on  the  east  side 
of  the  Jordan,  near  the  mouth  of  the  River  Jabbok.  That 
Jacob,  for  reasons  not  recorded,  spent  several  months  here, 
appears  from  the  fact  that,  instead  of  dwelling  in  tents,  be 


JACOB  AND  PETER.  361 

built  a  house  for  bis  family  and  buts  for  bis  cattle.  From 
Suceotb  Jacob  ultimately  crossed  tbe  Jordan,  and  came  "  in 
peace  to  tbe  city  of  Sbecbem  in  tbe  land  of  Canaan." 

The  cases  of  Jacob  and  Peter  present  some  points  in  common 
if  tbe  inner  significance  of  events  is  noticed.  Jacob  at  Bethel 
and  .at  tbe  ladder's  foot  may  be  likened  to  Peter  at  Ceesarea 
Philippi  (Matt.  xvi.  13-18) ;  though  Jacob  did  all  those  wrong 
things,  and  Jesus  was  obliged  to  call  Peter  Satan  afterwards. 
And  then  Peter  at  the  denial  and  repentance  (Luke  xxii.  60- 
62)  may  be  likened  to  Jacob  at  the  wrestling.  And  if  Christ 
spake  to  Peter,  saying,  "  When  thou  wast  young  thou  girdedst 
thyself,"  etc.  (J.obn  xxi.  18),  "in  order  that  be  might  know  that 
henceforth  an  entire  reliance  upon  the  leading  and  protection 
of  God  must  take  tbe  place  of  his  sinful  feeling  of  his  own 
strength,  and  bis  attachment  to  his  own  way ;  so,  doubtless,  tbe 
lameness  of  Jacob's  thigh  has  the  same  significance,  with  this 
difference,  that  as  Peter  must  be  cured  of  tbe  self-will  of  bis 
rash,  fiery  temperament,  so  Jacob  of  bis  selfish  prudence, 
tending  to  mere  cunning."  ^ 

1  Lange's  Genesis,  p.  555. 


362 


S ACRED  HISTORY. 


CHAPTER   XXV. 

JACOB    AT     HEBRON. 


CHRONOLOGY   OF   JACOB. 

{After  Usher.) 

Cir.  B.C.  Age. 

1837  Jacob  born. 

1822  Abraham  died         ....       15     Gen.  xxv. 

1805  Birthright  bought    ....       32 

1796  Esau  married  .....       40     xxvi.  34. 

1760  Jacob's  flight 77 

1753  His  double  marriage        ...       84 

1752  Reuben  born 85 

1751  Simeon  born 86 

1750  Levi  born 87 

1749  Judah  bom 88 

1745  Dinah  born 92 

1745  Joseph  born 92 

1739  Jacob  left  Aram      ....       98 

1739  Wrestled  at  Peniel  ....       98 

1732  Slaughter  of  the  Shechemites  .  107 

1729  Rachel  died 108 

1729  Jacob  at  Hebron      .        .        .         .108 

1728  Joseph  sold 109 

1716  Isaac  died,  aged  180        ..         .  120 

1715  Joseph  promoted     .         .         .         .122    xli.  46. 

1707  Jacob  in  Egypt        .         .        .        .130    xlvii.  9. 

1690  Jacob  died 147    xlvii.  28. 

1635  Joseph  died,  aged  110      .        .         .  1. 22. 


Gen.  xxxiii.  18-20.  —  When  Abram  left  Padan-aram  to  go 
to  the  promised  land,  he  came  first  to  a  place  afterwards  called 
Shechem,  and  there  he  built  an  altar.     About  one  hundred  and 


SHECUEM,   BACKWARD  A^^D   FOBWARD.  363 

eighty  years  afterwards  Jacob,  returning  from  Padan-aram, 
came  also  to  Shechem,  and  builded  another  altar  there,  and 
called  it  El-elohe-Israel,  "  Grod  (the  ]\Iiglity)  is  the  God  of 
Israeiy  Shechem  became,  next  to  Jerusalem,  the  most  famous 
city  in  Palestine.  Jacob  bought  a  parcel  of  ground  there,  and 
dug  a  well  within  its  borders.  At  his  death  he  bequeathed 
the  field  to  his  son  Joseph.  The  sons  of  Jacob  all  died  in 
Egypt.  Their  remains  were  not  allowed  to  moulder  in  the 
land  of  bondage,  but  were  brought  over  to  Shechem  for  burial 
(Acts  vii.  16).  At  the  exodus  the  Hebrews  took  the  bones  of 
Joseph,  and  on  their  arrival  in  Canaan  deposited  them  in 
Shechem.  Ebal  and  Gerizim,  the  mountains  of  blessing  and 
cursing,  guarded  the  spot.  It  was  near  the  site  of  the  future 
Samaria,  the  capital  of  the  kingdom  of  Israel.  There  Reho- 
boam,  the  last  monarch  of  the  undivided  kingdom,  was  crowned; 
there  Jeroboam,  the  founder  of  the  kingdom  of  the  ten  tribes, 
reigned ;  there  Ahab  and  Jezebel  polluted  the  throne ;  and 
there  Elijah  and  Elisha  kept  the  faith.  About  eight  hundred 
and  fifty  years  still  later,  our  Lord  sat  on  Jacob's  well,  and 
gathered  to  himself  the  first  fruits,  reserving  the  fuller  harvest 
of  souls  for  Philip  the  evangelist  (Acts  viii.  5). 

Gen.  xxxiv.  —  Jacob  pitched  his  tent  near  the  city  of 
Shechem,  of  which  Hamor  was  the  prince.  Dinah,  Jacob's 
daughter,  was  robbed  of  her  honor  by  Shechem,  a  son  of 
Hamor.  In  an  interview  with  Jacob  and  his  sons,  the  sheik 
declared  the  love  of  his  son  Shechem  for  Dinah,  and  made  pro- 
posals of  marriage  between  them.  He  offered  to  Jacob's  sons 
a  joint  possession  with  himself  of  the  region,  granting  to  them 
the  full  liberty  to  trade  and  acquire  property.  Hamor  warmly 
urged  his  suit  for  Dinah's  hand,  promising  an  anq)le  dowry. 
Her  brothers,  with  shameless  duplicity,  consented  to  the  mar- 
riage, on  the  condition  that  all  the  males  of  the  city  would 
submit  to  circumcision.  The  terms  were  accepted  and  fulfilled. 
Thereupon  Simeon  and  Levi,  the  full  brothers  of  Dinali,  at  the 
head,  no  doubt,  of  their  brothers  and  other  fighting  men,  rose 
upon  the  Shechemites,  when  they  were  feverish  and  prostrated 
from  the  effects  of  circumcision,  put  them  to  the  sword,  plun- 


364  ',  S ACHED  HISTORY. 

cTered  the  cit}^  and  their  wives  took  they  captive.  Hamor  and 
Shechem  were  among  the  slain.  Jacob  expressed  his  horror 
of  the  crime,  and  his  fears  lest  he  and  his  family  should  be 
destroyed  by  the  survivors  of  the  slaughtered  princes.  Well 
might  he  so  express  himself.  His  sons  pleaded  as  their  excuse 
the  indignity  inflicted  on  their  sister.  But  this  could  not 
excuse  a  slaughter  which  bore  the  marks  not  only  of  perfidy 
and  ferocity,  but  of  a  double  sacrilege  likewise.  His  sons  had 
used  their  Divine  election  as  a  cloak  for  revenge  (vs.  7  and 
14),  and  had  employed  the  sacramental  sign  of  the  covenant 
to  serve  their  bloody  purposes.  When  the  old  patriarch  was 
on  his  death-bed,  fifty-two  years  afterwards,  he  could  not  sup- 
press his  horror  at  the  deed.  The  houses  of  Simeon  and  Levi, 
said  he,  were  filled  with  merciless  weapons ;  his  very  soul 
would  fly  from  companionship  with  them ;  cursed  be  their 
fierce  anger,  cursed  be  their  cruel  wrath ;  let  them  be  dispersed 
forever  (Gen.  xlix.  5,  7). 

Gen.  xxxv.  —  A  wiser  than  Jacob  mi^ht  have  recognized 
the  necessity  to  the  plan  of  Providence  of  another  and  more 
prolonged  exj^atriation  of  the  chosen  seed.  Jacob  himself  was 
not  slow  in  reaching  the  conclusion  that  he  must  once  more 
seek  safety  in  flight.  Jehovah  came  to  his  relief,  directing  him 
to  go  to  Bethel  and  erect  an  altar  on  the  spot  where  he  had 
seen  God  in  his  flight  from  the  anger  of  Esau.  There  he  had 
beheld  the  ladder  and  the  angels,  and  had  received  the  benedic- 
tion of  Jehovah.  But  how  could  he  return  to  that  "dreadful 
place  "  which  was  "  none  other  than  the  house  of  God,  the  gate 
of  heaven  "  ?  To  enter  the  sanctuary  would  be  a  mortal  sin,  a 
sacrilege  ;  for  his  family,  in  the  persons  of  his  wives,  was  defiled 
with  the  sin  of  idolatry.  In  his  weakness,  and  with  his  tacit 
consent,  they  had  brought  strange  gods  with  them  from  Aram. 
He  now  required  them  to  bring  to  him  all  these  idols  and 
objects  of  false  worship,  with  their  rings  and  armlets;  and  he 
buried  them  under  an  oak  at  Shechem ;  the  very  oak,  perhaps, 
under  which  Abraham  had  pitched  his  tent  (xii.  6).  He  then 
required  Leah  and  Rachel  to  wash  their  persons,  and  exchange 
their  garments  for  clean  and  festal  robes,  as  signs  of  their  puri- 


BETHEL  AGAIN,   AND   TWO  FUNEBALS.  365 

fication  and  the  sanctification  of  their  hearts.  This  being  done, 
the  patriarch  and  his  family  made  a  safe  journey  to  Bethel. 
The  cities  round  about  did  not  dare  to  pursue  the  holy  fai\iily, 
for  the  ""terror  of  God  was  upon  them." 

On  his  arrival  at  Bethel  he  remembered  the  vow  which  he 
had  made,  more  than  twenty  years  before,  to  the  effect  that  if 
God  would  bring  him  back  to  Canaan  he  would  establish  on 
the  spot  the  house  of  God.  He  made  haste  to  build  an  altar, 
and  called  the  place  El-beth-el  (the  God,  the  house  of  God}. 
Jehovah  appeared  to  him  the  second  time,  blessed  him,  con- 
firmed to  him  his  new  name  Israel,  and  renewed  in  plenary 
fulness  the  promises  first  made  to  Abraham.  His  seed  should 
swell  into  a  congregation  of  nations,  kings  should  come  out  of 
him,  and  liis  posterity  should  possess  the  land.  Jacob  set  up 
a  pillar  of  stone  on  the  place  where  Jehovah  had  talked  to  him, 
and  poured  upon  it  consecrated  oil  and  a  drink-offering.  By 
so  doing  the  chosen  family,  in  the  person  of  their  patriarch, 
acknowledged  Jehovah  to  be  their  God. 

From  Bethel  the  caravan  journeyed  slowly  towards  Hebron, 
resting  by  the  way  for  the  benefit  of  the  flocks.  Near  Ephrath, 
Benjamin  was  born,  and  Rachel  gave  her  life  for  his.  Jacob 
erected  a  monument  over  her  grave.  How  tenderly  he  loved 
her,  down  to  the  day  of  his  death,  may  be  known  from  his  last 
words  to  Joseph's  sons  (Gen.  xlviii.  7).  Near  the  shepherds' 
watch-tower  of  Edar,  Reuben  was  guilty  of  incest  with  Bilhah, 
Rachel's  maid  and  Jacob's  w^ife  in  the  second  degree.  The  his- 
torian says  significantly,  "and  Israel  heard  it."  Nor  did  he 
forget  the  indignity  until  he  had  opportunity  to  take  away 
Reuben's  birthright  (Gen.  xlix.  4).  Jacob  at  last,  after  an 
absence  of  about  thirty  years,  —  twenty  in  Padan-aram  and  ten 
on  the  homeward  journe}^  —  came  to  his  father  in  Plebron. 
Rebekah  is  not  mentioned  here  :  she  was  probably  dead.  Isaac 
was  now  one  hundred  and  sixty-three  years  old.  He  survived 
Jacob's  return  to  Hebron  thirteen  years,  and  the  sale  of  Joseph 
twelve ;  and  died  at  the  age  of  one  hundred  and  forty-seven 
years.  Esau,  reconciled  to  Jacob  near  the  Jabbok,  was  present 
at  his  funeral ;  and  the  two  brothers  buried  him  by  the  side  of 


866  S ACRED  HISTORY. 

Abraham  at  Machpelali.  From  the  time  when  Isaac  gave  his 
parting  blessing  to  Jacob  to  the  day  of  his  death,  an  interval 
of  forty-three  years,  nothing  is  said  of  him  in  the  record.  His 
significance  in  the  history  had  ceased;  and  Moses  dealt  with 
his  closing  years  as  he  had  dealt  with  the  closing  jeavs,  of 
Abraham,  —  he  passed  over  them  in  silence.  Here  ends  the 
ninth  section  of  Genesis,  beginning  at  chap.  xxv.  19,  and  en- 
titled "  the  generations  of  Isaac."  Here  also  a  new  period  in 
the  life  of  Jacob  begins.  But  the  historian,  adhering  to  his 
invariable  plan,  clears  the  way  for  the  career  of  Jacob  and  his 
family  by  disposing  of  the  race  descending  from  Esau. 

Gen.  xxxvi.  —  Moses  devotes  the  tenth  and  eleventh  sections 
of  his  narrative  to  "  the  generations  of  Esau,  who  is  Edom." 
This  chapter  undoubtedly  contains  the  most  ancient  and  accu- 
rate genealogy  now  in  existence,  of  the  famous  Idumean  races. 
An  abstract  of  the  same  register  appears  in  1  Chron.  i.  34-50. 
Esau's  family  were  originally  settled  in  Mount  Seir,  —  the  re- 
gion which  extends  from  the  Dead  Sea  to  the  eastern  branch  of 
the  Red  Sea,  including  what  is  now  known  as  Petrfea.  In  later 
times  the  Edomites  spread  their  habitations  through  the  region 
south  of  Palestine.  The  register  in  Moses  traces  the  social 
progress  of  the  sons  of  Esau,  showing  how  their  families  multi- 
plied and  prospered,  how  the  families  expanded  into  dukedoms, 
how  the  dukedoms  became  consolidated  into  an  elective  mon- 
archy, and  how  the  monarchy  became  renowned  "before  there 
reigned  any  king  over  the  children  of  Israel "  (ver.  31).  The 
fickle  and  violent  temper  of  Esau  perpetuated  itself  in  his 
posterity.  Josephus  describes  the  Idumeans  of  his  day  as  "a 
turbulent  and  unruly  race,  always  hovering  on  the  verge  of 
revolution,  always  rejoicing  in  changes,  roused  to  arms  by  the 
slightest  petition  or  flattery,  rushing  to  battle  as  if  they  Avere 
going  to  a  feast."  ^  The  sacred  record  preserves  only  a  few 
minute  details  of  their  history ;  none,  indeed,  except  such  as 
were  needed  to  explain  their  relation  in  the  after  ages  with 
Israel. 

It  is  notorious  that  the  hostility  of  the  seed  of  the  serpent  to 

1  Bel.  Jud.,  iv.  4,  1. 


THE   TEAIL   OF  THE  SERPENT.  367 

the  seed  of  the  woman,  which  broke  out  in  paradise,  was  twice 
renewed  in  the  family  of  Abraham,  the  father  of  the  faitlifuL 
At  the  birth  of  Isaac,  Ishmael  gave  expression  to  his  jealousy 
by  mocking  his  half-brother ,  or,  as  Delitzsch  interprets  the 
text,  by  "  making  fun  of  him  ;  "  or,  as  Paul  has  taught  us, 
he  ''persecuted"  Isaac  (Gal.  iv.  29).  His  posterity,  as  we 
have  seen,  fulfilled  the  bad  omen.  And  now,  as  if  to  preserve 
all  the  unities,  the  war  was  renewed  in  the  family  of  Isaac. 
Esau,  first  in  his  person  and  afterward  in  his  posterity,  per- 
petuated these  hostilities  through  the  period,  first  and  last,  of 
two  thousand  years.  Edom  would  not  permit  the  Israelites 
in  the  wilderness  to  pass  through  his  border,  and  drew  the 
sword  to  enforce  his  refusal.  In  the  time  of  David,  Edom 
marched  in  force  on  the  land  of  Israel.  David  mcit  him  in  the 
"  valley  of  salt,"  on  the  Dead  Sea,  gave  him  battle,  and  de- 
feated him  with  the  slaughter  of  eighteen  thousand  Edomites 
(2  Sam.  viii.  13) ;  a  victory  which  the  king  celebrated  in  the 
sixtieth  Psalm.  And  so  it  occurred  that  in  the  days  of  jNIoses 
the  heel  of  the  woman's  seed  was  bruised,  in  the  days  of  David  the 
head  of  the  serpent  was  crushed.  But  the  race  of  Esau  seems 
to  have  brought  out  all  its  reserved  forces  of  malignity  and 
strength  for  an  assault  on  Christ,  the  ideal  Seed  of  the  woman, 
and  on  his  disciples,  Herod  the  Great  was,  it  is  supposed, 
Esau's  lineal  descendant,  and  Herod  began  the  bloody  war  by 
seeking  to  kill  Jesus  in  his  cradle.  Herod  the  tetrarch,  "  that 
fox  "  (Luke  xiii.  32),  was  the  son  of  Herod  the  Great.  He 
slew  John  the  Baptist,  and  mocked  the  Son  of  God  on  the 
morning  of  the  crucifixion.  His  wife  was  the  grand-daughter 
of  the  first  Herod ;  she  contrived  the  murder  of  John.  Herod 
Antipas  killed  James,  the  brother  of  John,  with  the  sword  ; 
he  intended  to  kill  Peter.  "  He  was  eaten  of  worms,  and  gave 
up  the  ghost"  (Acts  xii.  23).  What  effect  the  crimes  and  pun- 
ishment of  this  man  had  upon  his  son,^  the  King  Agripi)a  of 
Paul,  is  not  known.  We  hear  only  that  he  was  graciously  lifted 
out  of  this  brood  of  serpents  so  far  as  to  declare  himself  an 
"almost  Christian."  This  story,  among  its  useful  lessons,  calls 
1  Joseplius,  War,  ii.  11,  G. 


368  SACRED  HISTORY, 

our  attention  to  threads  running  in  and  out,  and  giving  unity 
and  coherence  to  tlie  narrative. 

The  biography  of  the  patriarch  Jacob,  between  his  return 
from  Aram  and  his  death,  may  be  distributed  into  tliree  periods. 
(1)  His  journey  from  the  river  Jabbok  to  Hebron  occupied 
about  ten  years.  From  the  circumstances  tliat  he  built  a 
house  for  himself,  and  tliat  lie  bought  a  piece  of  ground  at 
Shechem,  we  may  infer  that  he  spent  the  larger  part  of  these 
ten  years  in  those  places.  (2)  He  sojourned  in  Hebron  about 
twenty -two  years,  and  then  went  down  into  Egypt.  (3)  He 
remained  in  Egypt  seventeen  years,  until  he  died,  aged  one 
hundred  and  forty-seven  years. 

During  the  second  of  these  periods,  Jacob's  residence  in 
Hebron,  his  sons  were  shepherds,  leading  their  flocks  in  search 
jOf  pasture-grounds  and  water-springs  as  far  as  Shechem  and 
Dothan  (chap,  xxxvii.  12-17).  From  the  sheaves  of  wheat 
which  figured  in  the  dreams  of  Joseph,  it  appears  that  they 
also  tilled  the  soil.  Jacob  remained  at  home  superintending, 
as  best  he  could,  the  wanderings  and  labors  of  his  sons,  and 
communicating  with  them  from  time  to  time.  Joseph  brought 
to  Jacob  intelligence  of  the  misconduct  of  some  of  his  half- 
brothers,  the  sons  of  Bilhah  and  Zilpah.  Jacob  sent  Joseph 
also  to  Shechem  on  a  visit  to  his  brethren  there.  In  the  twelfth 
and  last  section  of  Genesis,  the  historian  enters  anew  upon  the 
biography  of  Jacob. 

Gen.  xxxvii.  —  This  section  is  entitled  "the  generations  of 
Israel,"  and  it  extends  to  the  death  of  Joseph  and  the  end 
of  Genesis.  It  opens  with  a  narrative  of  the  sale  of  Joseph, 
which  was  made  within  a  year  after  Jacob  came  to  Hebron. 
It  has  been  thought  that  "  Joseph  might  be  described  as  the 
moving  principle  of  the  subsequent  history."  But  it  remains 
true  that  Jacob  was  the  head  of  the  family,  the  third  of  the 
three  older  patriarchs ;  and  Joseph,  with  all  his  prominence  in 
the  removal  of  the  family  to  Egypt,  did  not  take  the  birth- 
right from  Judah,  nor  Judah's  place  in  the  genealogy  of  Christ, 
nor  did  Joseph  at  his  death  pronounce  the  patriarchal  blessing 
on  his  own  sons  and  on  his  brothers.     The  true  representative 


PEOGBESS   UNDER  JACOB.  369 

of  the  chosen  seed  was  Jacob.     And  Jacob  conies  before  us  m 
several  important  rehations  to  the  history  of  redemption. 

(1)  He  left  Canaan,  a  fugitive  and  an  exile,  with  his  staff 
only.  He  returned  to  his  father's  house,  bringing  with  him 
twelve  sons,  great  riches,  repeated  assurances  of  the  Divine 
blessing,  and  the  confirmation  of  his  patriarchal  position.  Mean- 
while he  had  received  the  regeneration :  the  old  nature  that 
was  within  him,  filled  with  selfishness  and  duplicity,  had  been 
emptied  of  those  vices,  and  filled  with  the  graces  of  the  Spirit. 
He  was  a  new  man ;  no  longer  Jacob,  but  Israel.  (2)  Abra- 
ham, Isaac,  and  Jacob  were,  each  in  his  generation,  the  sole 
heirs  of  the  covenant,  their  brothers  having  been  laid  aside. 
In  Jacob's  family,  the  covenant  seed  expanded  into  the  com- 
pany of  twelve  tribes  of  Israel,  the  tribes  to  be  consolidated  in 
due  time  into  a  single  commonwealth.  (3)  The  chosen  family, 
having  been  called  to  this  high  destiny,  were  separated  from  the 
peoples  around  them  by  the  sign  of  circumcision,  by  their  wor- 
ship at  the  altar  of  one  God,  the  most  liigli  Jehovah,  and  by 
their  purification  at  Shechem  of  the  last  traces  of  idolatry. 
(4)  The  removal  of  the  chosen  seed  to  Egypt,  one  of  tlie  salient 
points  in  the  history  of  redemption,  occurred  in  the  old  age  of 
Jacob.  The  first  decisive  step  towards  this  migration  was  taken 
in  the  sale  of  Joseph  into  Egypt.  The  word  of  God  to  Abram, 
uttered  about  a  hundred  and  thirty  years  before,  foreshadowed 
the  enslavement  and  affliction  of  his  posterity  in  some  strange 
land,  fur  the  period  of  four  hundred  years  (Gen.  xv.  13). 
Jacob  did  not  take  in  the  meaning  of  this  warning.  It  did  not, 
apparently,  occur  to  him  that  this  exile  would  take  place  in  his 
day,  or  that  it  should  be  experienced  in  Egypt.  Least  of  all 
did  he  anticipate  the  noble  position  assigned  to  his  son  Joseph 
in  this  epoch.  His  ignorance  in  regard  to  the  whole  case  fol- 
lowed the  general  rule,  according  to  which  no  prophecy  can  be 
unerringly  interpreted  until  after  it  shall  be  fulfilled.  There  is 
no  reason  to  suppose  that  he  understood,  in  whole  or  in  part, 
the  providential  plan  to  be  accomplished  by  the  removal  of  the 
chosen  seed  into  Egypt.  That  important  information  is  com- 
municated by  Moses  to  his  readers. 


370  SACRED  BISTORT. 

1.  Certain  occurrences  in  the  land  of  Canaan  show  that  the 
removal  thence  of  Jacob's  family  was  necessary  in  order  to  pre- 
vent unrestrained  intermarriage  between  the  Israelites  and  the 
heathen,  leading  to  a  fusion  of  the  races.  Both  Abraham  and 
Isaac  took  special  precautions  against  such  misalliances.  Simeon, 
Judah,  and  Judah's  oldest  son  married  Canaanitish  women ;  and 
it  is  probable  that  some  or  all  of  the  brothers  took  wives  of  the 
daughters  of  the  heathen,  or  of  Ishmael  and  Esau.  Forty-six 
grandsons  went  with  Jacob  into  Egypt,  and  it  is  right  to  ima- 
gine that  many  of  them  had  done  likewise.  The  exposure  of 
Judah's  disgusting  dissoluteness,  in  Gen.  xxxviii.,  shows  still 
further  the  necessity  of  some  measure  which  would  effectually 
prevent  the  chosen  seed  from  being  polluted  and  finally  absorbed 
by  the  natives.  The  expedient  which  God  adopted  was  the 
removal  of  the  whole  chosen  family  into  another  country.  The 
suitableness  of  Egypt  as  a  refuge  from  the  perils  here  mentioned 
will  be  recognized,  when  it  is  remembered  that  there  was  no 
ordinary  possibility  of  intermarriage  between  the  Hebrews  and 
the  Egyptians.  There  could  be  no  common  table  for  husband 
and  wife  in  a  mixed  marriage :  "  The  Egyptians  might  not  eat 
bread  with  the  Hebrews,  for  that  is  an  abomination  unto  the 
Egyptians  "  (xliii.  32).  Some  writers  have  referred  this  antip- 
athy to  the  general  aversion  of  the  Egyptians  towards  all  for- 
eigners, others  to  repugnant  customs  in  the  preparation  of  food, 
and  others  to  the  circumstance  set  forth  in  xlvi.  34:  "Every 
shepherd  is  an  abomination  to  tlie  Egyptians."  It  may  be  con- 
jectured that  their  refinement  was  offended  by  the  coarse  man- 
ners of  the  nomadic  races,  for  they  habitually  resented  the 
inroads  of  the  Bedouin  shepherds  and  robbers  of  the  adjacent 
deserts  by  refusing  to  eat  with  any  shepherd.  We  approach 
still  nearer  the  distinct  ground  of  the  aversion,  when  we  re- 
member that  the  Hebrews  slaughtered  for  their  daily  food  and 
for  their  burnt-offerings  the  animals  which  were  worshipped  in 
Egypt  (Exod.  viii.  26).  One  or  all  of  these  particulars  make  it 
plain  that  the  barriers  to  the  intermarriage  between  the  Hebrews 
and  the  Egyptians  were  well-nigh  impassable.  Indeed,  not 
more  than  two  or  three  instances  are  on  record  in  which  the 


SEASONS  FOE   GOING   TO  EGYPT.  371 

barrier  was  overleaped ;  the  case  of  Joseph  being  every  way 
exceptional.  So  far  as  the  preservation  of  the  Hebrew  stock  in 
its  purity  entered  into  the  Divine  plan,  the  object  was  fully 
accomplished  by  the  removal  of  Jacob's  sons  to  Egypt. 

2.  The  expansion  and  consolidation  of  the  chosen  seed  into 
a  nation  was  conditioned  on  their  expatriation.  The  problem 
to  be  solved  was,  how  to  develop  the  twelve  patriarchs  into 
a  great  people,  in  such  manner  as  to  secure  their  organic  unity 
as  one  commonwealth,  and  to  preserve  their  organic  diversity  as 
twelve  tribes.  It  is  difficult  to  see  how  this  could  be  brought 
about,  if  the  people  had  remained  in  Canaan.  For  their  unity 
as  a  single  people  was  liable  to  dissolution  from  two  causes: 
first,  their  nomadic  pursuits  dispersed  them  over  the  whole 
land  in  search  of  pasture-grounds,  and  wells  or  pools ;  and,  next, 
dissensions  among  themselves,  like  those  which  separated  Lot 
from  Abraham,  and  Esau  from  Jacob,  might  be  expected  to 
spring  up.  The  effect  of  these  disturbances  would  be,  to  split 
them  into  small  and  perhaps  hostile  clans,  and  to  defeat  their 
consolidation  into  one  nation,  severed  from  all  other  peoples 
and  united  in  themselves.  This  problem  was  readily  solved 
in  Egypt.  The  Hebrews  were  settled  in  one  compact  body  in 
Goshen ;  they  were  alienated  from  the  Egyptians  and  from  the 
Bedouin  tribes  in  the  deserts,  by  the  prejudices  of  race.  Their 
pursuits  also,  their  traditions,  the  oppressions  which  they  en- 
dured, and  their  expectations  for  the  future,  gave  them  the 
position  and  character  of  a  peculiar  people,  and  perpetually^ 
reminded  them  that  they  were  one  in  origin,  in  history,  and 
destiny.  In  Goshen  it  was  that  the  sense  of  unity  was  planted 
in  the  Hebrew  mind,  which  has  remained  inextinguishable 
through  the  ages.  And  while  this  organic  unity  was  main- 
tained, the  integrity  of  the  tribal  organization  was  protected 
during  the  sojourn  in  Egypt.  The  method  by  which  the  twelve 
tribes  were  kept  distinct  is  not  described ;  suffice  it  to  saj,  the 
object  was  attained. 

3.  The  relations  of  the  Hebrews  to  their  neighbors  in  Canaan 
were  exceedingly  critical.  If  the  Canaanites  of  Jacob's  day, 
dwelling  in  tents  and  watching  their  flocks,  be  compared  with 


372  SACEED  HISTORY. 

the  Canaanites  of  Joshua's  day,  living  in  walled  towns  and  pro- 
tected by  fighting  men,  it  will  be  seen  that  they  were  rapidly 
growing  in  numbers  and  power.  The  time  was  at  hand  when 
the  land  could  no  longer  accommodate  both  races;  one  must 
give  way,  or  be  subjugated  to  the  other.  Collisions  between 
the  parties,  engendered  by  accident  or  malice,  were  inevitable. 
A  serious  controversy  had  already  sprung  up  between  the 
servants  of  Isaac  and  the  Philistines,  in  regard  to  the  wells 
in  Gerar.  The  seduction  of  Dinah,  Jacob's  daughter,  by  the 
young  prince  of  Shechem,  had  been  avenged  by  her  brothers 
in  the  cowardly  slaughter  of  a  whole  city.  There  is  reason  to 
believe  that  wars  of  races  were  impending,  out  of  which  the  sons 
of  Jacob,  if  they  escaped  with  their  lives,  would  have  emerged 
with  the  temper  of  the  Bedouin  —  more  Ishmaelites  than  Israel- 
ites. Moreover,  the  chosen  people  were  appointed  of  God  not 
only  to  supplant,  but  to  destroy,  the  Canaanites ;  to  the  end 
that  these  people  might  be  punished  for  their  iniquities,  and  that 
the  country  might  be  cleared  for  the  occupancy  of  the  chosen 
people.  Neither  Jacob's  sons,  nor  his  grandsons,  nor  their  sons, 
would  be  strong  enough  to  drive  out  the  native  tribes.  Ac- 
cordingly, they  were  lifted  up  in  a  body  and  sent  to  Egypt,  and 
kept  there  until  they  could  return  to  the  promised  land  with 
six  hundred  thousand  fighting-men,  able  to  overrun  the  country 
in  a  single  campaign. 

4.  The  plan  of  Providence  in  this  exile  contemplated  a 
change  in  the  habits  of  the  people,  suited  to  their  destiny.  The 
pilgrim  father  tilled  the  soil  (Gen.  xxvi.  12)  ,  but,  for  the  most 
part,  the  chosen  people  were  shepherds,  dwelling  in  tents,  and 
leading  their  flocks  throughout  the  whole  land,  from  the  wells 
of  Beersheba  to  the  slopes  of  Hermon.  Their  nomadic  habits 
remained  unchanged  through  two  hundred  and  fifteen  years,  — 
from  the  arrival  of  Abram  at  Shechem,  down  to  the  migration 
of  Jacob  to  Egypt.  But  for  the  fear  of  God  that  was  in  them, 
the  patriarchs  resembled  the  Arab  sheiks,  surrounded  by  their 
herdsmen  and  warriors.  This  stereotyped  form  of  society  had 
accomplished  the  purposes  for  which  it  had  been  ordained,  and 
"the  simplicity  connected  with  it  made   them  susceptible   of 


ARTS  LEARNED  IN  EGYPT.  373 

Divine  revelation."  The  time  had  come  when  the  plan  of 
Providence  required  a  radical  change  in  their  mode  of  life, 
looking  to  an  exalted  theocratic  civilization.  It  was  appointed 
to  the  descendants  of  these  wandering  shepherds,  to  found  a 
great  commonwealth;  to  build,  in  the  wastes  of  Canaan,  cities 
and  palaces,  and  a  temple  for  Jehovah,  all  of  them  fenced  about 
with  walls  and  towers.  They  must  also  construct  streets  and 
roads,  conduits,  fountains  and  sewers,  prisons  and  tombs ;  invent 
instruments  of  music,  and  the  implements  and  chariots  of  war. 
This  transformation  in  the  habits  of  the  people  was  easily 
effected  in  Egypt.  In  the  fertile  province  of  Goshen  the  chil- 
dren of  Israel,  while  they  were  few  in  number,  were  taught 
how  to  combine  the  cultivation  of  the  soil  with  special  training 
in  the  useful  arts.  Towards  the  close  of  the  sojourn,  they 
became  skilled  in  agriculture  (Deut.  xi.  10),  and  they  dwelt  in 
houses  framed  with  door-posts  (Exod.  xii.  4,  7).  They  built 
cities  for  Pharaoh,  and  in  that  employment  they  acquired  a 
practical  acquaintance  with  domestic  and  public  architecture. 
Still  further,  they  became  skilled  in  the  elegant  arts.  The  gen- 
eration which  went  out  of  Egypt  set  up  in  the  wilderness  a 
tabernacle  for  Jehovah,  adorned  with  curtains  of  fine  twined 
linen,  blue,  purple,  and  scarlet.  Its  furniture  was  decorated 
with  gold,  beaten  out  into  knobs  and  almond  blossoms  and 
crowns.  They  clothed  their  priests  with  holy  garments ;  even 
robe,  broidered  coat,  mitre,  ephod,  with  the  curious  girdle 
thereof,  woven  for  glory  and  for  beauty.  They  engraved  the 
names  of  the  tribes  in  onyx-stones,  and  set  them  in  gold ;  they 
made  a  breastplate  for  the  high  priest,  of  twelve  gems,  —  the 
diamond,  and  the  ruby,  and  other  jewels  rare  and  precious,  — 
graven  with  the  names  of  the  tribes  of  Israel,  like  the  engraving 
of  the  signet.  They  compounded  costly  spicery,  holy  oil  and 
incense,  a  perfume,  a  confection  after  the  art  of  the  apothecary, 
tempered  together,  pure  and  holy,  —  the  whole  made  after  the 
pattern  of  heavenly  things.  They  established  a  sanctuary, 
a  ministry,  and  a  worship,  not  unworthy  of  the  sacred  Presence 
(Exod.  xxviii.,  xxx.).  Now,  this  thorough  transformation  of 
simple  nomads  into  husbandmen,  architects,  engineers,  weavers, 


374  SACBED  HISTOEY. 

artists,  and  jewellers,  could  scarcely  have  been  effected  in 
Canaan.  Egypt  became,  on  a  large  scale,  a  school  of  industry 
and  the  arts  for  the  Hebrews.  The  discipline  was  severe,  but 
the  education  was  thorough. 

5.  Israel  was  to  receive,  at  the  proper  time,  a  Divine  law, 
moral,  civil,  and  ceremonial,  and  was  to  establish  a  sanctuary, 
a  priesthood,  and  ordinances  of  worship  wholly  unknown  on 
earth  before.  This  was  a  work  of  extraordinary  difficulty, 
even  under  the  most  favorable  circumstances.  The  obstacles 
were  insuperable  in  Canaan ;  and  this  by  a  double  tendency,  — 
the  propensity  of  the  Hebrews,  as  discovered  in  the  wilderness 
and  even  in  the  promised  land,  to  adojjt  the  religious  usages 
of  the  heathen,  and  the  reciprocal  willingness  of  the  heathen 
to  adopt  the  religious  usages  of  the  Hebrews.  The  absence  of 
the  family  from  Canaan,  until  it  should  become  a  great  people, 
able  to  receive  a  Divine  ecclesiastical  polity,  was  indispensable. 

6.  By  the  removal  of  the  chosen  seed  into  Egypt,  the 
kingdom  of  God  was  planted  for  a  season  in  the  heart  of  a  great 
pagan  empire.  Once  near  the  beginning  and  once  near  the  end 
of  the  Old-Covenant  dispensation,  God  was  pleased  to  send 
his  visible  Church,  as  a  whole,  into  the  bbsom,  first  of  Egypt, 
then  of  Babylon.  In  the  part  of  the  history  now  before  us, 
mighty  and  powerful  Egypt,  the  representative  of  the  seed  of 
the  serpent,  is  brought  into  contact  with  Israel,  the  representa- 
tive of  the  seed  of  the  woman.  By  the  op^^ression  which  God's 
chosen  people  endured,  by  their  trouble  and  anguish,  was  ful- 
filled the  prophecy  of  the  heel  of  the  woman's  seed  bruised ;  by 
the  terror  of  the  ten  plagues,  and  the  overthrow  at  the  Red  Sea, 
was  fulfilled  the  prophecy  of  the  head  of  the  serpent  crushed. 
We  now  come  upon  the  assaults  which  the  world-powers  have 
made  upon  the  kingdom  of  God,  and  upon  the  judgments  by 
M-hich  these  hostile  forces  shall  be  paralyzed,  one  by  one,  until 
the  last  day.  To  Moses,  God  said,  "  The  Egyptians  shall  know 
that  I  am  the  Lord,  when  I  stretch  my  hand  upon  Egypt" 
(Exod.  vii.  5).  By  Ezekiel  he  said  of  Babylon,  "I  will  set 
my  glory  among  the  heathen,  and  all  the  heathen  shall  see  my 
judgment  that  I  have  executed,  and  my  hand  that  I  have  laid 


THE  HAND   OF  GOD  IN  EACH  TUING.  375 

upon  them  "  (Ezek.  xxxix.  21).  Nothing  further  needs  to  be 
set  forth  showing  that  the  removal  of  the  promised  seed  from 
the  promised  land  was  wisely  ordered.  Nor  could  that  measure 
be  effected  too  soon.  Just  before  the  arrival  of  Jacob  at 
Hebron,  the  slaughter  of  the  Shechemites  and  the  beastly 
behavior  of  Judah  (chap,  xxxviii.)  made  it  plain  that  the  time 
for  quitting  Canaan  was  rapidly  approaching.  About  that 
time  another  painful  occurrence,  the  sale  of  Joseph  into  Egypt, 
pointed  to  the  country  to  which  the  chosen  seed  were  to  go. 

Gen.  xxxvii.  —  The  story  of  Joseph  begins  with  Jacob's 
preference  of  Rachel  to  Leah,  his  undisguised  partiality  for 
her  son  Joseph  over  all  the  other  children,  and  the  natural 
jealousy  of  Leah  and  the  other  sons.  This  jealousy  towards 
Joseph  was  aggravated  by  the  unwise  favoritism  which  Jacob 
displayed  for  Joseph ;  and  it  rose  into  hatred  when  the  foolish 
boy  told  them  his  two  dreams,  and  his  interpretation  of  them. 
"  They  hated  him  yet  the  more  for  his  dreams  and  his  words  " 
(ver.  8).  It  is  easy  to  see  the  hand  of  God  in  the  indiscretion 
of  Jacob,  sending  Joseph  on  a  visit  to  his  angry  brothers  in 
Shechem ,  in  their  removal  from  Shechem  to  Dothan,  directly 
in  the  route  of  ordinary  traffic  from  Syria  to  Egypt;  in  the 
conspiracy  of  the  brothers  to  put  Joseph  to  death  so  that  his 
dreams  might  come  to  nothing ;  in  the  stratagem  of  Reuben 
to  gain  time  with  the  hope  of  saving  the  life  of  the  lad;  in 
the  timely  arrival  at  Dothan  of  the  travelling  merchants,  on 
their  way,  not  to  Syria,  but  to  Egypt ;  in  the  distant  relation- 
ship between  the  Ishmaelitish  traders  and  Joseph ;  in  Judah's 
proposal  to  sell  him  to  the  merchants,  thus  enabling  them  to 
avoid  fratricide,  and  yet  get  rid  of  the  lad ;  and,  finally,  in  the 
hypocrisy  and  falsehood  whereby  they  made  Jacob  believe  that 
Joseph  was  dead,  a  deception  which  effectually  prevented  Jacob 
from  sending  to  Egypt  for  the  purpose  of  redeeming  and  recov- 
ering his  son,  albeit  it  was  divinely  ordained  that  Joseph 
should  live  and  die  in  Egypt.  What  Peter  said  of  the  envious 
Jews  is  applicable  to  the  angry  brothers :  they  did  whatsoever 
the  hand  and  counsel  of  God  determined  before  to  be  done 
(Acts  iv.  28).     The  attempt  of  the  Jews  to  defeat,  by  tlije 


376  SACRED  HISTOBY. 

death  of  Jesus,  the  Divme  purpose  concerning  him,  was  the 
means  of  carrying  that  purpose  into  execution ;  even  so 
the  attempt  of  Joseph's  brothers  to  defeat  his  dreams  by 
selling  him  into  Egypt  helped  to  bring  the  dreams  to  pass. 
Afterwards  the  accusation  made  by  Potiphar's  wife  had  a 
similar  effect-,  and  the  resistance  of  Jacob  to  the  journey 
of  Benjamin  into  Egypt  finally  secured  the  removal  thither  of 
Jacob  liimself. 


MEANING    OF  JOSEPH'S   SALE. 


377 


CHAPTER   XXVI. 

JOSEPH   IN  EGYPT. 


CHRONOLOGY   OF   JOSEPH. 


{After  Usher.) 

Cir.  B.C 

Age 

1746 

Born. 

1729 

Sold     .... 

.       17 

1729 

In  Potiphar's  house 

.       17 

1729 

Imprisoned  . 

.       17 

1718 

Tells  Pharaoh's  dreams 

.       28- 

1716 

Promoted     . 

.       30 

Geu.  xli.  46. 

1716 

Married 

.       30 

1712 

Manasseh  born    . 

.       34 

xli.  51. 

1711 

Ephraim  born 

.       35 

1707 

First  visit  of  his  brothers 

.      41 

1707 

Second  visit 

.      41 

1706 

Jacob  goes  to  Egypt    . 

.      42 

1689 

Jacob  died  . 

.       56 

xlvii.  28. 

1635 

Joseph  died 

.     110 

1.  26. 

1427 

Buried  at  Shechem 

^• 11?    x7^  -     -1 J 

L-      -L'-      

Josh.  xxiv.  32 

-_-    •„      T7I i 

Joseph  himself  gave  the  clew  to  his  career  in  Egypt,  when 
he  said  to  his  brothers,  "  God  sent  me  before  you  to  preserve 
you  a  posterity  iu  the  earth,  and  to  save  your  lives  by  a  great 
deliverance.  So  now  it  was  not  you  that  sent  me,  but  God ; 
and  he  hath  made  me  a  father  to  Pharaoh,  and  lord  of  all  his 
house,  and  a  ruler  in  the  land  of  Egypt"  (Gen.  xlv.  7,  8). 
The  efficient  agency  in  his  career  was  Divine.  It  was  not  his 
brothers,  but  God,  who  had  sent  him  to  Egypt  twenty  years 
before  they  came.  The  Divine  purpose  was  to  save  the  chosen 
seed  from  extirpation  by  a  signal  deliverance ;  and  to  this  end 


378  SACBED  HISTORY. 

God  bad  made  him  the  second  author  of  life  to  Pharaoh,  and 
the  prime  minister  of  Egypt.  He  made  no  mention  of  his 
services  to  the  Egyptians,  because,  with  his  nice  discernment 
of  the  plan  of  Providence,  he  perceived  that  the  preserva- 
tion of  the  Egyptians  was  incidental  only  to  the  preservation  of 
the  Israelites.  Joseph  understood  also  his  true  position  in  the 
sovereign  plan. 

He  was  not,  like  Jacob,  the  sole  patriarch,  but  was  simply 
one  of  the  twelve  patriarchs.  He  wrought  no  miracles,  he  saw 
no  theophany;  he  was  inspired  only  for  the  interpretation  of 
the  dreams  of  his  two  fellow-prisoners  and  of  the  king.  He 
received  no  new  promises  in  regard  to  the  progress  of  the 
kingdom  of  God.  He  was  neither  prophet,  nor  j)riest,  nor  sole 
representative  of  the  covenant ;  he  was  simply  a  man  of  affairs, 
viceroy,  statesman.  And  yet,  in  the  history,  he  is  scarcel}^  less 
conspicuous  than  Abraham,  Moses,  Joshua,  David,  and  Daniel. 
The  narrative  of  Joseph's  early  life  in  Egypt  reveals  the  prep- 
aration which  he  received,  from  the  grace  and  the  discij)line  of 
Providence,  for  his  illustrious  career. 

Gen.  xxxix.  —  Joseph  was,  in  the  first  place,  the  special 
object  of  the  Divine  favor.  While  he  was  in  the  service  of 
Potiphar,  the  record  says  that  "  Jehovah  was  with  Joseph,  and 
he  was  prospered,"  and  that  "  Jehovah  blessed  the  Egyptian's 
house  for  Joseph's  sake ;  and  the  blessing  of  Jehovah  was  upon 
all  that  Potiphar  had  in  the  house  and  in  the  field."  Potiphar 
himself  saw  that  Jehovah  was  with  him,  "and  he  made  him 
overseer  over  his  house,  and  all  that  he  had  he  put  into  his 
hands."  The  use  of  the  ineffable  name,  Jehovah,  the  covenant- 
keeping  God,  five  times  repeated  here,  is  most  significant.  It 
prepares  the  way  for  the  story  of  Joseph's  deliverance  from  the 
temptation  which  he  endured  in  Potiphar's  house,  and  of  his 
escape  from  death.  The  crime  laid  to  his  charge  was,  under 
the  laws  of  Egypt,  punishable  with  one  thousand  blows,  —  a 
horrible  death.  Whether,  as  is  quite  possible,  Potiphar  was 
led  to  doubt  the  guilt  of  Joseph  as  charged,  is  not  material. 
The  accused  was,  no  doubt  by  Divine  interposition,  rescued 
from  death,  and  cast  into  prison.     He  was  treated  at  first  with 


JOSEPH'S  PERSONAL   PIETY.  379 

great  severity.  "  His  feet  they  hurt  with  fetters ;  he  was  laid 
in  cliains  of  iron"  (Ps.  cv.  18).  "But  Jehovali  was  with 
Joseph,  and  showed  him  mercy."  He  became  tlie  under- 
warden.  The  governor  of  tlie  prison  did  not  supervise  Joseph, 
"  because  that  which  lie  did,  Jehovah  made  it  to  prosper."  His 
release  from  prison,  his  promotion  to  the  position  in  Egypt 
next  the  throne,  the  rapidity  with  which  he  grew  into  the  favor 
of  the  king  and  the  priesthood  and  the  people  of  Egypt,  were 
among  the  signal  tokens  of  God's  favor. 

IMureover,  Joseph  was  from  his  youth  the  servant  of  the  God 
of  his  fathers.  In  Potiphar's  house  he  was  protected  from  sore 
temptation,  not  only  by  the  nicest  sense  of  honor  towards  the 
man  who  had  committed  every  thing  to  his  hands  except  his 
wife,  but  by  the  fear  of  God.  "  How  shall  I  do  this  great 
wickedness,  and  sin  against  God  ?  "  and  "  he  fled,  and  got  him 
out."  He  had  been  sold  and  delivered  when  he  was  but  a 
stripling.  His  piety  is  to  be  traced  to  his  early  training  in  his 
father's  house.  Tlie  idea  of  the  true  God  was  never  absent 
from  his  mind.  He  declared  to  the  baker  and  butler  in  prison 
that  the  interpretation  of  dreams  belongs  to  God.  When  the 
king  demanded  the  interpretation  of  his  two  dreams,  Joseph 
said,  "  It  is  not  in  me ;  God  shall  give  Pharaoh  an  answer  in 
peace ; "  and  again,  "  What  God  is  about  to  do,  he  showeth  to 
Pharaoh ; "  and  yet  again,  "  The  thing  is  established  by  God, 
and  God  will  shortly  bring  it  to  pass."  His  promotion  quickly 
followed. 

Gen.  xli.  25-45.  —  By  virtue  of  the  Divine  inspiration  that 
was  in  him,  Joseph  told  the  king  that  his  royal  dreams  pointed 
to  seven  years  of  great  plenty  in  Egypt,  to  be  followed  by 
seven  years  of  famine.  He  also  suggested,  by  way  of  provision 
against  the  impending  calamity,  that  one-fifth  part  of  the  grain 
produced  in  the  years  of  plenty  should  be  laid  up  in  store- 
houses. Joseph's  interpretation  of  the  dream,  and  his  advice, 
won  the  confidence  of  the  king  and  his  court.  Pharaoh, 
though  an  idolater,  openly  declared  that  the  "  spirit  of  God  " 
was  in  the  prisoner,  and  said  to  him,  "  Forasmuch  as  God  hath 
showed  thee  all  this,  there  is  none  so  discreet  and  wise  as  thou 


380  SACRED  HISTORY. 

art ;  tliou  slialt  be  over  my  house,  and  according  unto  thy  word 
shall  all  my  people  be  ruled.  Only  in  the  throne  will  I  be 
greater  than  thou."  Pharaoh's  good  confession  in  regard  to 
the  only  living  and  true  God  was  not  a  piece  of  affectation : 
it  is  one  of  many  incidents  showing  that  the  knowledge  of  God 
still  lingered  in  the  memory  of  mankind.  The  Pharaoh  of 
Abraham's  day  recognized  the  hand  of  God  in  the  plagues 
which  fell  upon  his  household  (Gen.  xii.  17).  Abimelech,  the 
Philistine  chief,  acknowledged  that  the  God  of  Abraham  and 
Isaac  was  to  be  feared  and  adored  (xxi.  22,  xxvi.  28).  Even 
so  the  Pharaoh  of  Joseph's  day  was  seized  with  the  conviction 
that  the  prisoner  before  him  was  the  servant  of  a  true  God, 
that  his  prophetic  warning  must  be  heeded,  and  that  the  young 
j)rophet  himself  was  the  divinely  appointed  savior  of  the 
people.  He  raised  Joseph  to  the  office  of  the  grand  vizier,  and 
gave  orders  for  his  inauguration  with  imposing  ceremonies. 
The  signet-ring  used  in  sealing  royal  edicts  was  put  upon  his 
finger,  his  person  was  adorned  with  the  robe  of  byssus,  and 
his  neck  was  encircled  with  a  golden  chain,  to  which  the 
scarabaeus  was  usually  attached.  A  royal  procession  was 
formed.  Joseph  rode  in  the  chariot  next  to  the  king's  chariot ; 
and  heralds  went  before  the  new  ruler  crying,  Abrech,  "  Bend 
the  knee."  As  if  to  emphasize  the  dignity  and  honor  of  the 
first  minister  of  state,  Pharaoh  gave  to  him  a  new  name, 
Zaphnath-paaneah,  the  "  support  of  life,"  and  procured  his 
marriage  with  the  daughter  of  the  priest  of  the  Temple  of  the 
Sun  at  Heliopolis.  Besides  all  this,  the  belief  of  the  king  in 
regard  to  the  true  God  secured  to  Joseph,  to  the  end  of  his 
life,  liberty  of  conscience  and  worship.  It  is  worthy  of  men- 
tion, also,  that  his  elevation  from  obscurity  to  honor  and  power 
has  its  counterpart  in  the  subsequent  advancement  of  Daniel 
by  Darius,  and  of  Mordecai  by  Ahasuerus.  In  fidelity  to  the 
faith  and  worship  of  the  chosen  seed,  these  men  did  not  exceed 
the  example  of  Joseph. 

Although  in  close  contact  with  heathenism,  he  escaped  its 
contagion.  He  had  been  separated  from  the  people  of  God 
in  early  life,  and  yet  he  kept  the  faith  of  his  boyhood.     He 


LOYALTY  AND  PRACTICAL    WISDOM.  381 

was  the  confidential  minister  of  a  pagan  king;  his  wife  was 
the  daughter  of  the  high  priest  of  an  idol  temple ;  his  duties, 
we  may  believe,  required  him,  from  time  to  time,  to  be  present 
at  the  celebration  of  false  worship,  yet  there  is  not  the  least 
reason  to  suspect  that  he  conformed  or  pretended  to  conform 
to  its  rites.  He  walked  by  faith  in  the  promises  to  the  older 
patriarchs.  To  his  first  son  he  gave  the  name  of  Manasseh,  a 
word  of  gratitude,  signifying  that  his  past  sorrow  was  swallowed 
up  in  present  joy.  He  called  his  second  son  Ephraim,  —  a  sign 
of  longing  for  the  promised  land :  "  For  God  hath  caused  me 
to  be  fruitful  in  the  land  of  afBiction."  Towards  the  close  of 
life,  his  vague  longing  gave  place  to  an  assured  hope.  Jacob 
was  with  Joseph  in  Egypt  seventeen  years.  The  son  must  have 
taken  from  the  lips  of  the  father  the  story  of  all  the  theoph- 
anies  that  had  been  seen  in  Canaan,  together  with  the  promises 
respecting  a  chosen  seed  and  a  chosen  land,  the  blessings  that 
were  to  abide  there,  and  the  greater  blessings  that  were  to  flow 
thence  throughout  all  the  world.  Looking  unto  these  prom- 
ises, Joseph  brought  his  sons  to  Jacob  when  he  lay  a-dying, 
that  they  might  receive  the  patriarchal  blessing.  Jacob  adopted 
the  youths  as  his  own  sons  under  the  Abrahamic  covenant, 
and  assigned  to  them  separate  and  princely  inheritances  in 
Canaan ;  so  that  Joseph  through  them  obtained  a  double  por- 
tion. And  finally,  Joseph  at  his  death  "  made  mention  of  the 
departing  of  the  children  of  Israel,  and  gave  commandment 
concerning  his  bones"  (Gen.  1.  24,  25;  Heb.  xi.  22). 

Gen.  xli.  46-56,  xlvii.  13-26.  —  The  practical  wisdom  dis- 
played by  Joseph  in  his  official  position  must  be  ascribed  to  the 
Divine  guidance.  He  was  sold  into  Egypt  at  the  age  of 
seventeen,  and  was  thirty  years  old  at  his  promotion.  Accord- 
ing to  Usher's  chronology,  his  stewardship  in  Potiphar's  house 
occupied  less  than  a  year,  and  his  imprisonment  lasted  twelve 
years.  He  rose  suddenly  from  the  condition  of  a  prisoner  to 
the  dignity  of  the  grand  vizier.  And  yet  it  cannot  be  said 
that  he  took  office  wholly  unprepared  for  its  duties.  For 
Jacob  had  brought  him  up  in  the  fear  of  God,  the  source  in 
him  of  incorruptible  purity  and  integrity.     Next,  he  got  the 


382  S ACHED  HISTORY. 

needed  spiritual  purification  from  the  discipline  of  adversity 
and  suffering.  This  thought  is  contained  in  Ps.  cv.  17-19.  He 
had  been  stolen  and  sold  for  a  slave,  tempted  to  sin,  falsely 
accused,  cast  into  prison  without  cause,  his  feet  were  bound 
in  fetters,  anguish  entered  his  soul,  his  intimate  faith  was 
sorely  tried.  The  arrogance  of  the  stripling  had  disappeared 
from  the  chastened  man  of  mature  age  and  piety.  And, 
further,  his  administrative  ability  had  been  partially  developed 
b}"  his  experience  as  the  overseer  in  Potiphar's  house,  and  as 
the  deputy  warden  in  the  prison.  But,  with  all  that,  he  was 
a  stranger  in  Egypt,  with  little  knowledge  of  its  manners, 
customs,  and  public  affairs ;  and  now  the  whole  duty  of  making 
provision  for  a  famine  of  seven  years  was  suddenly  cast  upon 
him. 

Gen.  xli.  46-57,  xlvii.  13-26.  —  A  few  paragraphs,  in  all 
no  more  than  twenty  verses  of  our  English  Bible,  are  devoted 
to  his  plan  for  the  accumulation,  from  the  whole  land,  of  food 
in  seven  years  of  plenty,  and  its  distribution  throughout  the 
whole  land  in  seven  years  of  want.  He  began  his  official 
duties  by  making  a  personal  inspection  of  all  Egypt.  He 
selected  certain  cities  as  centres  of  his  administration.  In 
them  he  ordered  storehouses  to  be  prepared,  and  appointed 
officers  to  superintend  the  work  in  the  adjacent  districts.  By 
a  royal  edict  the  farmers  were  required  to  deliver  one-fifth 
part  of  the  wheat,  produced  year  by  year,  to  the  cities  near 
them.  The  accumulation  was  immense ;  its  abundance  was 
like  the  sands  of  the  sea.  The  record  of  receipts  which 
was  begun  was  finally  abandoned  for  want  of  time.  The  dis- 
tribution of  the  food  when  the  famine  came  was  not  less 
systematic  and  judicious.  Owing  to  the  improvidence  habitual 
in  a  fertile  region,  like  the  banks  of  the  Nile,  the  people  soon 
exhausted  their  own  meagre  stores  of  food,  and  began  to 
cry  to  Pharaoh  for  bread.  Joseph  removed  the  j)eople  from 
their  homes  to  the  cities  where  the  grain  was  kept,  and  to  the 
suburbs ;  a  precaution  lest  any  of  the  needy  should  be  over- 
looked. In  order  to  prevent  waste  and  extravagance,  the 
grain,  instead  of  being  given  gratuitously  to  those  who  were 


JOSEPH'S  POLICY  CBITICISED.  383 

able  to  buy,  was  sold  to  them  for  money.  The  rule  of  sale  and 
purchase  was  rigidly  enforced.  When  the  money  of  the  people 
was  spent,  Joseph  took  their  cattle  and  other  property,  and 
then  their  farms,  in  payment.  Thus  Pharaoli  became  the  abso- 
lute and  sole  owner  of  the  soil,  and  of  the  movable  property 
of  the  people.  An  exception,  however,  was  made  by  the  king 
in  favor  of  the  jDriests :  they  received  gratuitously  their  portion 
of  food,  and  "  sold  not  their  lands." 

Joseph's  character  and  administration  have  been  sharply 
criticised.  Kalisch,  for  example,  labors  through  eight  closely 
printed  pages  to  show  that  Joseph  was  "despotic,  cruel,  and 
heartless,  anxious  only  for  the  aggrandizement  of  the  regal 
power,  and  unfeeling  for  the  miserable  condition  of  the  people," 
and  that  his  character  is  "at  once  stained  by  the  execrable 
meanness  of  sacrificing  the  happiness  of  the  nation  to  subser- 
vient sycophancy  of  a  tyrannical  dynasty."^  In  the  defence  of 
Joseph  it  is  not  necessary  to  suggest  that  his  discretion  in  the 
matter  may  have  been  controlled  by  Pharaoh  and  his  advisers. 
He  had  supreme  authority,  and  was  responsible  for  his  policy. 
It  is  proper  to  say,  however,  that,  until  more  is  known  of  the 
condition  of  the  peasantry  of  Egypt  before  and  after  the  fam- 
ine, Joseph's  accusers  are  not  justified  in  aspersing  his  charac- 
ter or  his  administration ;  least  of  all  are  they  at  liberty  to 
assume  that  the  sacred  writers  intended  to  cast  reproach  upon 
him.  The  indignation  of  Kalisch  is  somewhat  robbed  of  its 
virtuous  quality  by  an  examination  of  the  public  policy  adopted 
by  Joseph.  The  worst  possible  land-law  for  America  or  Eng- 
land may  have  been  the  best  possible  land-law  for  semi-barbar- 
ous Egypt.  Joseph  lost  no  time,  after  the  famine  ceased',  in 
providing  adequate  relief  for  the  peasantry.  He  encouraged 
them  to  cultivate  the  farms  that  they  had  once  owned.  He 
supplied  them  with  wheat  for  their  first  crop  and  for  the  sup- 
port of  their  families  until  the  harvest.  He  fixed  the  rental 
at  one-fifth  of  the  crop  from  year  to  year;  not  an  exorbitant 
charge,  for  the  product  of  the  soil  was  about  thirty-five  fold. 
Moreover,  the  revenue  derived  from  the  rent  enabled  the  king 

1  Kalisch  on  Gen.  xlvii.  13-26. 


384  SACRED  niSTOET. 

to  support  a  standing  army  for  the  protection  of  his  subjects 
from  the  raids  of  the  Bedouins  roaming  about  the  deserts,  and 
to  construct  machinery  and  canals  for  the  irrigation  of  the 
wheat-fields.  And,  as  a  still  further  return  for  the  taxes  and 
rents,  the  government  undertook  one  of  the  greatest  public 
works  on  earth,  the  artificial  sea  of  Moeris.  This  immense 
reservoir  received  the  superfluous  water  of  the  Nile  in  the  time 
of  its  great  floods.  When  the  overflow  failed,  or  the  river  ran 
low,  the  country  was  watered  by  canals  and  trenches  leading 
from  the  artificial  sea  to  the  thirsty  soil.  By  this  means  the 
recurrence  of  the  famine  was  effectually  prevented.  The  fur- 
ther defence  of  this  great  minister  of  state  against  modern  cen- 
soriousness  is  furnished  by  the  joint  testimony  of  Pharaoh  and 
the  peasants.  Before  the  famine  the  king  said  to  his  council- 
lors, "  Can  we  find  such  a  one  as  this,  a  man  in  whom  is  the 
Spirit  of  God?"  After  the  famine,  when  Joseph  made  known 
his  land  system,  the  Egyptians  said,  "  Thou  hast  saved  our 
lives.  Let  us  find  grace  in  the  sight  of  my  lord,  and  we  will 
be  Pharaoh's  servants  "  (Gen.  xli.  38,  xlvii.  25).  The  success 
of  his  administration  presupposes  in  him  the  highest  gifts  of 
organization  and  administration ;  the  ability  to  solve  a  bread 
question  which  was  complicated  by  obstinate  conditions ;  the 
wisdom  which  enabled  him  to  preserve  a  steadfast  loyalty  to 
his  royal  master,  and  to  secure  the  confidence  of  a  starving 
population ;  the  sagacity  to  enforce  obedience  to  his  single  will 
throughout  a  wide  public  service,  and  to  guide  the  discretion 
of  the  king  and  the  priesthood  and  the  court.  By  a  marvellous 
statesmanship  he  effected  a  revolution  in  the  land-laws  which 
first  impoverished  the  people  with  their  own  consent,  and  then 
led  them  on  to  prosperity. 

Gen.  xlii.-xlv.  —  The  critics  who  can  see  nothing  to  com- 
mend in  Joseph  as  a  ruler  ought  not  to  be  expected  to  admire 
him  as  a  son  and  brother.  In  character-drawing,  as  in  a  picture, 
all  the  unities  should  be  preserved.  When  Ucalegon's  house  is 
on  fire,  the  adjacent  house  of  Priam  must  also  burn.  Kalisch 
charges  Joseph  with  duplicity,  cruelty,  and  heartlessness  towards 
his  brothers  when  they  came  to  Egypt  to  buy  food.     He  con- 


JOSEPH'S  COURSE  DEFENDED.  385 

cealecl  his  identity,  called  them  spies,  and  threw  them  into  a 
dungeon  without  cause,  and  released  them  without  an  examina- 
tion. In  the  case  of  Benjamin  and  the  cup,  he  devised  a  new 
stratagem  with  almost  demoniac  cruelty.  He  assumed  the  part 
of  a  retaliatory  Providence  towards  his  brethren,  and  acted  as 
a  judge  and  avenger.  In  his  desire  to  see  Benjamin,  Joseph 
"  almost  designedly  tormented  "  his  aged  father,  and  made  him- 
self the  medium  of  dispensing  the  justice  of  God  on  the  help- 
less old  man.  The  duplicity  of  Joseph  is  established  by  a 
curious  process  of  thought.  While  he  is  engaged  in  harassing 
his  brothers,  he  cannot  well  suppress  his  tears  when  he  sees 
their  repentance,  and  hears  the  confession  of  their  guilt ;  the 
fervent  and  almost  passionate  love  for  his  father  and  for  Benja- 
min breaks  forth  in  every  part  of  the  transaction,  and  when  he 
can  no  longer  refrain  himself,  he  makes  himself  known  to  his 
brothers  with  the  most  loving,  the  most  touching  tenderness. 
And  this,  we  are  taught,  was  a  remarkable  duplicity.  Thus  far 
the  hostile  critics.^ 

Now,  in  explanation  of  Joseph's  course  it  is  not  necessary  to 
deny  what  cannot  be  well  proved,  that,  in  his  first  interview 
with  his  brothers,  he  intended  to  rebuke  them  for  their  cruelty 
in  selling  him  as  a  slave.  But  it  is  evident  that  he  begaji  very 
early  to  consider  the  propriety  of  removing  his  father's  whole 
family  to  Egypt  in  order  to  preserve  them  alive  through  the 
famine.  But  before  doing  that,  he  must  subject  the  dispositions 
of  his  brothers  to  repeated  and  decisive  tests.  He  must  be 
assured  that  they  were  not  in  the  same  temper  that  led  some  of 
them,  twenty-two  years  before,  to  desire  to  kill  him,  and  all 
of  them  to  sell  him  into  slavery.  If  they  should  be  settled  in 
Egypt,  would  they  recognize  his  official  authorit}'-  over  them, 
and  so  voluntarily  fulfil  the  dreams  of  his  boyhood,  or  would 
they  give  way  to  their  former  impulses  of  jealousy  and  hatred 
towards  him?  Were  they  capable  of  repeating  their  former 
merciless  deceptions  on  their  father  ?  There  too  was  Benjamin, 
the  youngest  son  of  Rachel.  Had  Jacob  transferred  to  him  the 
unwise  partiality  that  he  had  lavished  on  Joseph,  and  had  the 
1  Kalisch  on  Gen.  xli. 


386  SACRED  BISTORT. 

ten  brothers  transferred  to  the  youngest-born  their  old  jealousy 
towards  him  whom  they  had  sold?  And,  finally,  were  these 
men  at  peace  among  themselves?  Unless  their  behavior,  and 
in  some  good  sense  their  hearts,  had  been  changed,  their  re- 
moval to  Egypt  would  have  introduced  a  turbulent  population 
which  would  disturb  if  it  did  not  paralyze  Josej)h's  administra- 
tion. He  was  at  the  head  of  Pharaoh's  governmefnt;  he  must 
rise  to  the  dignity  of  his  responsible  position,  and  do  nothing 
^  which  might  compromise  him  with  the  king,  or  work  disaster 
on  his  family.     It  was  his  first  duty  to  prove  his  brothers. 

He  was  helped  in  his  investigations  by  perceiving  at  the 
very  first,  that  while  he  identified  the  persons  of  his  brothers,  and 
understood  their  native  tongue,  they  were  in  ignorance  of  his 
person,  and  of  the  language  which  he  spoke.  When  they  saw 
him  last,  he  was  a  mere  stripling :  now  he  was  a  swarthy,  care- 
worn official,  in  the  fortieth  year  of  his  age ;  his  head  and  beard 
were  shaved ;  he  was  clothed  in  princely  attire ;  and  he  spoke 
a  strange  tongue,  —  addressing  them  always  through  an  inter- 
preter (xlii.  23)  ;  and  his  brothers  were  sure  that  he  was  dead 
(xliv.  20).  Joseph  availed  himself  of  his  advantages.  At  the 
first  interview  he  spoke  roughly  to  them ,  he  told  them  that 
they  were  spies,  and  reiterated  the  charge  upon  their  denial  of 
its  truth.  Having  ascertained  that  Benjamin  was  at  home  with 
their  father,  Joseph  told  them  that  he  would  hold  in  custody 
nine  of  the  ten  there  present  until  one  of  them  should  produce 
Benjamin.  He  sent  them  all  to  prison.  At  the  end  of  three 
days  he  modified  his  order,  telling  them  all  to  go  home,  except 
one  whom  he  would  hold  as  a  hostage  for  the  appearance  of 
Benjamin.  This  severe  discipline  took  effect.  When  they 
received  Joseph's  final  order,  they  said  to  one  another  in  his 
presence,  but  in  their  own  tongue,  "  We  are  verily  guilty  con- 
cerning our  brother,  in  that  we  saw  the  anguish  of  his  soul 
when  he  besought  us,  and  we  would  not  hear ;  therefore  is 
this  distress  come  upon  us."  Reuben  added,  "  Therefore,  also, 
his  blood  is  required."  Joseph  overheard  and  understood  it 
all.  The  brothers  were  penitent  and  humble,  and  worthy  of 
his  confidence.     Overcome  by  emotion,  he  suddenly  withdrew, 


TUB   TESTS  ENDURED.  387 

and  burst  into  tears.  It  is  right  to  imagine  that  among  his 
conflicting  emotions,  joy  was  predominant ;  not  only  the  joy  of 
a  good  man  over  a  sinner  that  repents,  but,  in  Joseph's  case, 
a  peculiar  joy  in  discovering  the  change  which  had  been 
wrought  by  Divine  grace  in  the  hearts  of  his  brothers.  But 
he  must  prove  them  still  further.  So  soon  as  he  regained  his 
composure,  he  selected  Simeon  as  the  hostage,  and  bound  him 
before  the  eyes  of  the  brothers.  He  then  ordered  his  servants 
to  fill  their  sacks  with  wheat,  to  provide  them  with  food  for 
their  journey.  And  because  he  could  not  consent  to  extort 
payment  for  the  staff-of  life  from  his  own  famishing  flesh  and 
blood,  he  ordered  their  money  to  be  put  into  their  sacks. 

Gen.  xliii.  —  On  their  second  visit,  Benjamin  came  with 
them.  Joseph  nearly  lost  his  self-control  when  he  saw  his 
mother's  son :  "  Is  this  your  younger  brother,  of  whom  ye 
spake?  And  he  said,  God  be  gracious  unto  thee,  my  son.  And 
Joseph  made  haste  ;  for  his  bowels  did  yearn  for  his  brother ; 
and  he  sought  where  to  weep;  and  he  entered  into  his  chamber, 
and  wept  there."  He  made  a  feast  for  his  guests,  and  seated 
his  brothers  at  the  tables  in  the  order  of  their  seniority.  And 
as  if  to  see  whether  they  would  show  jealousy  towards  their 
younger  brother,  he  gave  to  him  the  largest  and  daintiest 
morsels  on  the  tables.  The  historian  describes  with  glowing 
word-painting  the  final  test  to  which  he  put  them,  in  the  story 
of  the  sacred  goblet  found  in  Benjamin's  sack ;  the  dismay 
and  anguish  of  the  lirothers  when  crime  was,  as  they  thought, 
brought  home  to  Benjamin  ;  the  inimitable  pathos  of  Judah, 
beseeching  Joseph  to  reduce  him  to  slavery,  and  allow  Benjamin 
to  go  home,  lest  their  old  father's  gray  hairs  should  go  down 
with  sorrow  to  the  grave.  Joseph  could  stand  it  no  longer. 
He  threw  off  his  reserve  ;  he  said,  "  I  am  Joseph , "  he  fell 
upon  Benjamin's  neck,  and  kissed  him,  and  kissed  all  his 
brothers,  and  wept  upon  them.  He  knew  now  that  liis  brothers 
respected  him,  and  loved  their  father  and  one  another,  and 
that  the  way  was  open  for  their  happy  settlement  in  Egypt. 

In  due  time  Jacob  and  his  entire  household,  with  his  servants 
and  cattle,  were  transported  with  Pharaoh's  full  consent  to 


388  SACEED  HISTORY. 

the  fertile  and  beautiful  plains  of  Goshen.  And  so  was  ful- 
filled the  word  of  God  to  Abraham,  that  his  seed  should  go 
down  into  the  land  of  Egypt.  Jacob  was  assured  that  his 
removal  was  in  the  plan  of  Providence ;  for  when  he  reached 
Beersheba,  on  the  border  of  the  desert,  Jehovah  appeared  to 
him  once  more,  and  encouraged  him  to  proceed  on  his  journey, 
with  the  repetition  of  the  patriarchal  promises.  And  if  Jacob 
thought  that  Joseph  had  been  unmindful  of  his  distress  in 
demanding  the  presence  of  Benjamin  in  Egypt,  he  might  well 
excuse  his  son  for  Avhat  was  simply  incidental  to  the  wisest 
possible  method ;  and  he  might  easily  forget  the  sorrow  of  a 
few  days  in  the  comfort  of  a  serene  and  honored  old  age. 

One  of  the  truths  most  clearly  revealed  in  this  history  is  the 
sovereignty  of  God  and  the  freedom  of  man,  in  whatsoever 
comes  to  pass.  God  said  to  Abram,  "  Know  of  a  surety  that 
thy  seed  shall  be  a  stranger  in  a  land  that  is  not  theirs,  and  shall 
serve  them  "  (Gen.  xv.  13).  Here  was  God's  decree.  The  sale 
of  Joseph  into  Egypt  was  in  pursuance  of  that  decree.  For  he 
himself  said  to  his  brothers,  "  God  sent  me  before  you  to  pre- 
serve you  a  posterity  in  the  earth,  and  to  save  j'our  lives  by  a 
great  deliverance  "  (xlv.  7).  It  has  been  already  shown  that 
the  removal  of  Joseph  to  Egypt  was  brought  about  by  events 
which  are  easily  traced  as  far  back  as  the  birth  of  Jacob  and 
Esau.  To  this  it  may  now  be  added  that  Joseph's  imprison- 
ment, his  Divine  gift  of  inspiration  in  the  interpretation  of 
dreams,  his  release  from  prison,  his  promotion  and  brilliant  ad- 
ministration, the  visits  of  the  brothers,  and  the  removal  of  the 
family  to  Egypt,  are  successive  links  in  the  chain  of  events, 
wherein  God  was  the  efficient  cause,  and  the  settlement  of  the 
chosen  seed  in  Goshen  was  the  issue. 

The  narrative  brings  before  us  also  the  many  persons,  in  many 
lands,  througli  whose  instrumentality  the  Divine  purpose  was 
brought  about.  Isaac,  Rebekah,  Esau,  Jacob,  in  Canaan ;  Laban, 
Leah,  and  Rachel,  in  Mesopotamia ;  Reuben,  Judah,  and  the 
Ishraaelitish  merchants,  in  Dothan ;  Potiphar  and  his  wife,  the 
butler,  the  baker,  and  Pharaoh  in  Egypt,  —  appear  one  by  one 
in  the  story.     Each  of  them  in  his  turn  wove  his  own  separate 


SOVEREIGNTY   WORKING    WITH  FREEDOM.  889 

thread  into  the  tapestry,  and  stepped  aside  to  give  place  to 
another,  knowing  nothing  of  the  rare  and  luminous  device,  even 
the  Divine  ideal,  which  was  graduall}'-  coming  out  on  the  hidden 
side  of  the  canvas.  Each  of  them,  also,  revealed  some  personal 
motive  or  passion  :  Rebekah  her  maternal  pride,  Esau  his  re- 
venge, Jacob  his  partiality  for  Rachel  and  Joseph,  the  brothers 
their  jealousy,  Reuben  his  lingering  kindness  towards  Joseph, 
Judah  his  moderation,  the  merchants  their  love  of  gain,  Poti- 
phar's  wife  her  desires,  Pharaoh  his  superstition  in  regard  to 
dreams,  Jacob's  sons  their  renewed  natures,  and  Jacob  his  love 
for  the  long-lost  Josepli.  These  many  men  and  women,  differ- 
ing in  race  and  customs,  good  and  bad,  heathen  and  Israelites, 
distributed  through  many  countries  and  many  years,  known  to 
each  other  or  unknown,  wrought  unconsciously  together  unto 
one  definite  end,  the  foregone  and  predeterminate  purpose  of 
God.  On  the  part  of  man  was  the  absolute  freedom  of  his 
will,  choosing  and  refusing,  doing  and  not  doing,  at  every  step, 
according  to  his  own  good  pleasure.  On  the  part  of  God 
was  his  providence  executing  his  own  absolute  decrees.  He 
prompted  all  that  was  good,  overruled  all  that  was  evil.  He 
adjusted  both  the  good  and  the  evil  to  his  general  plan ;  he  suf- 
fered no  link  in  the  chain  to  be  misplaced  or  lost ;  he  allowed 
neither  undue  haste  nor  undue  delay ;  and  he  bound  together 
events  as  remote  as  the  sale  of  a  mess  of  pottage  and  the  sale 
of  a  human  being,  and  events  as  natural  as  the  dreams  of  a  lad 
in  Canaan,  the  dreams  of  the  prisoners  and  of  the  king  in  Egypt. 
At  last,  through  the  intricate  and  tangled  maze,  God  brought  to 
.pass  every  word  that  he  had  spoken,  never  once  interfering 
with  the  liberty  of  man.  Aside  from  the  value  of  this  part  of 
the  record  as  a  development  of  the  plan  and  promise  of  salva- 
tion, it  is  invaluable  as  an  example  of  the  supreme  dominion  of 
the  Creator,  interwoven,  if  we  may  so  say,  into  the  freedom 
of  the  creature. 


390  SACRED  EISTOEY. 


CHAPTER  XXVII. 

THE  CHOSEN   SEED  IN   EGYPT. 

Gen.  xlv.  17-21,  xlvi.  28-34,  xlvii.  1-12. —Having  ascer- 
tained what  had  passed  between  Joseph  and  his  eleven 
brothers,  Pharaoh  cordially  invited  Jacob  and  all  his  house- 
hold to  remove  to  Egypt.  His  offer,  by  way  of  inducement, 
was,  "  I  will  give  you  the  good  of  the  land  of  Egypt,  and  ye 
shall  eat  of  the  fat  of  the  land."  He  sent  carriages  to  convey 
them  from  Canaan ;  he  urged  them  to  leave  behind  them  their 
household  effects,  for,  said  he,  "  the  good  of  the  land  of  Egypt 
is  yours."  On  their  arrival,  the  king  greeted  them  with  a 
warm  welcome.  He  gave  audience  to  a  delegation  of  the 
brothers,  and,  at  their  request,  he  assigned  to  the  family  the 
land  of  Goshen.  He  intrusted  to  their  care  the  royal  droves 
of  cattle  that  were  kept  there.  He  also  invited  Jacob  to  a 
personal  interview,  treated  him  with  the  utmost  veneration, 
and  accepted  from  him  a  blessing.  These  incidents  indicate 
the  special  favor  of  Providence  towards  the  chosen  seed,  and 
the  unlimited  confidence  which  Pharaoh  placed  in  the  wisdom 
and  integrity  of  Joseph.  His  confidence  was  not  misplaced, 
for  Joseph  dealt  frankly  with  his  royal  master.  Remembering 
that  all  shepherds  were  an  abomination  unto  the  Egyptians,  he 
required  his  brothers  to  be  frank  with  the  king,  and  tell  him 
that  they  had  been  shepherds  from  their  youth,  they  and  their 
fathers. 

The  land  of  Goshen,  or  the  land  of  Rameses  (xlvii.  11),  lies 
between  the  desert  of  Arabia  Petrsea  on  the  east  and  the 
Tanitic  arm  of  the  Nile  on  the  west.  The  modern  traveller 
looks  in  vain  for  the  attractions  which  it  offered  to  Jacob's 


EXCELLENCE  OF  THE  LAND.  391 

family.  Dr.  Geikie  quotes  a  remark  of  Napoleon,  to  the  effect 
that  under  a  good  government  the  Nile  invades  the  desert; 
under  a  bad  one,  the  desert  invades  the  Nile.  The  neglects 
and  abuses  of  wretched  misgovernment  and  of  degraded  peoples 
have  reduced  the  region  which,  in  Jacob's  day,  was  "the  best 
of  the  land,"  to  a  desert  of  sand  and  loose  stones  covered  with 
ruins.  AVhat  it  was,  as  the  Hebrews  knew  it,  is  described  by 
an  Egyptian  scribe  writing  at  the  time.  The  chief  city,  in  its 
borders,  "  is  a  pleasant  place  to  live  in.  Its  fields  are  full  of 
good  things,  and  life  passes  in  constant  plenty  and  abundance  ; 
it  has  a  daily  market;  its  canals  are  rich  in  fish;  jts  lakes 
swarm  with  birds ;  its  meadows  are  green  with  vegetables ; 
there  is  no  end  of  the  lentiles,  and  melons  which  taste  like 
honey  grow  in  its  irrigated  fields ;  its  barns  are  full  of  wheat 
and  durra,  and  reach  as  high  as  heaven ;  onions  and  leeks  grow 
in  bunches  in  the  enclosures ;  the  vine  and  the  almond-tree 
and  the  fig-tree  grow  in  the  gardens ;  there  is  plenty  of  sweet 
wine,  the  produce  of  Egypt,  which  they  mix  with  honey."  ^ 
Robinson  adds,  that  while  the  western  district  was  the  garden 
land  of  the  Nile,  the  eastern  portion  was  suited  for  pasturage, 
—  two  advantages  seldom  found  united.  There  the  Israelites 
lived  together  as  one  family,  and  were  separated  from  the 
Egyptians  by  religious  and  social  peculiarities.  Joseph's  resi- 
dence was  near  by ;  and  when  the  time  for  the  exodus  came, 
the  people  found  themselves  on  the  very  edge  of  the  desert 
through  which  they  were  to  pass  on  their  way  to  the  promised 
land. 

The  family  became,  very  naturally,  fond  of  their  new  home. 
They  had  exchanged  famine  in  their  native  Canaan  for  plenty 
in  Egypt.  After  the  famine  ceased,  Joseph  was  perhaps  still 
in  power,  certainly  in  a  position  to  protect  their  persons  and 
property.  But  there  is  reason  to  believe  that  neither  Jacob 
nor  his  sons  contemplated  a  permanent  residence  in  Egypt. 
Joseph  urged  his  father  to  come  to  him,  on  the  ground  that 
there  were  yet  five  years  of  famine  (xlv.  11).  The  deputation 
of  the  brothers  told  the  king  that  they  had  come  simply  "  to 
1  Geikie:  Hours,  etc.,  vol.  ii.  pp.  3-5,  and  the  authorities  cited  there. 


392  SACRED  HISTORY. 

sojourn  "  in  the  land,  and  because  "  the  famme  was  sore  in  the 
land  of  Canaan"  (xlvii.  4).  But  although  they  held  their 
possessions  by  a  good  title, — a  gift  from  the  crown,  —  and 
though  their  numbers  were  multiplied,  and  their  riches  in- 
creased, they  were  not  allowed  to  forget  that  they  must  return 
at  some  future  time  to  Canaan.  The  burial  of  Jacob,  and  after 
that,  the  burial  of  one  after  another  of  his  sons  in  Canaan,  and 
the  arrangements  made  for  the  transfer  thither  of  Joseph's 
remains  when  they  should  go  back  to  the  land  of  promise, 
indicate  tliat  the  earlier  generations  did  not  look  upon  Egypt 
as  their  home.  After  Joseph's  death  they  were  suddenly 
enslaved,  and  closely  confined  to  the  house  of  bondage.  Then 
their  eyes  were  opened,  and  they  saw  that  the  time  of  oppres- 
sion in  a  strange  land  had  come,  of  which  Jehovah  had  spoken 
to  Abraham. 

The  duration  of  the  sojourn  in  Egypt  raises  one  of  the 
most  intricate  problems  of  sacred  history.  Many  of  our  most 
approved  authorities  compute  the  period  at  four  hundred  and 
thirty  years ;  many,  equally  distinguished,  reduce  the  computa- 
tion by  one-half,  to  two  hundred  and  fifteen  years.  Josephus 
is  quoted  on  both  sides  of  the  question,  showing  how  early  the 
difficulty  was  perceived.^  Among  Christian  scholars,  the  longer 
reckoning  is  supported  by  Rosenmueller,  Hoffman,  Ewald,  Keil, 
Hengstenberg,  Kurtz,  Kalisch,  George  Rawlinson,  Geikie,  and 
Canon  Cook.  The  shorter  reckoning  is  adopted  by  Augustine, 
Usher,  Murphy,  Baumgarten,  J.  A.  Alexander,  Ellicott,  and 
Jacobus.  From  this  conflict  of  opinion  it  may  well  be  inferred 
that  the  question  cannot  be  solved  by  the  information  now 
before  the  world,  and  that  no  great  importance  is  to  be  attached 
to  the  subject,  else  it  would  have  been  cleared  up  by  the  sacred 
writers.  As  the  case  now  stands,  the  only  treatment  called 
for  by  the  problem  is  a  fair  statement  of  its  conditions,  and  of 
the  solutions  which  have  been  proposed. 

The  evidence,  as  of  record,  is  as  follows  (Gen.  xv.  13): 
"  And  God  said  to  Abram,  Know  of  a  surety  that  thy  seed  shall 
be  a  stranger  in  a  land  that  is  not  theirs,  and  shall  serve  them  ; 
1  Antiq.,  ii.  15,  2;  ii.  9, 1.    Wars  of  the  Jews,  v.  9,  4. 


CnnONOLOGY  OF  THE  BONDAGE.  393 

and  they  shall  afflict  them  four  hundred  years.  And  also  that 
nation  whom  they  shall  serve,  will  I  judge ;  and  afterward 
shall  they  come  out  with  great  substance."  The  four  hundred 
years  was,  according  to  the  usage  of  prophecy,  a  round  number 
for  four  hundred  and  thirty  years  (Exod.  xii.  41).  Some  have 
thought  that  these  years  covered  the  period  of  the  sojourn  of 
the  patriarchs  in  Canaan,  and  the  period  of  their  posterity  in 
Egypt.  And  yet  the  prediction  points  to  an  enslavement,  not 
a  sojourn  simply,  but  an  enslavement  in  one  land  by  a  single 
nation.  God  would  visit  that  nation  with  sore  judgments ; 
the  enslaved  should  come  out  of  the  place  of  bondage,  should 
come  out  laden  with  treasures,  at  the  end  of  four  hundred 
years.  Egypt  alone,  not  Egypt  jointly  with  Canaan,  was  dis- 
tinctly and  exclusively  pointed  at  in  the  vision  of  Abram.  It 
was  made  known  explicitly  at  the  giving  of  the  covenant  in  its 
first  stage ;  it  was  exactly  fulfilled  at  the  exodus. 

Moses,  describing  the  departure  of  Israel  from  Egypt,  writes  ; 
"  Now  the  sojourning  of  the  children  of  Israel,  who  dwelt  in 
Egypt,  was  four  hundred  and  thirty  years"  (Exod.  xii.  40); 
This  language,  taken  from  the  Authorized  Version,  supports  the 
longer  computation.  All  doubt,  if  any  there  be,  is  removed  by 
the  Hebrew  text,  as  it  is  understood  by  the  Revisers.  Their 
reading  is :  "  Now  the  sojourn  of  the  children  of  Israel,  which 
they  sojourned  in  Egypt,  was  four  hundred  and  thirty  years." 
It  should  be  added  that  the  advocates  of  the  shorter  chronology 
rely  on  the  readings  exhibited  in  the  two  oldest  versions- of  the 
Pentateuch,  —  the  Septuagint  and  the  Samaritan.  The  text  in 
the  Septuagint,  the  gloss  being  here  printed  in  Italics^  is :  "  The 
sojourning  of  the  children  of  Israel,  which  they  sojourned  in 
Egypt  and  in  the  land  of  Canaan,  was  four  hundred  and  thirty 
years."  The  reading  in  the  Samaritan  is :  "  The  sojourning  of 
the  children  of  Israel,  and  of  their  fathers,  which  they  sojourned 
in  the  land  of  Canaan  and  in  Egj'pt,  was  four  Iiundrcd  and 
thirty  years."  The  rejoinder  i&  to  the^  effect;  that  the  original 
Hebrew  text  is  of  paramount  authority;  that  the  LXX.  are  no- 
torious for  the  liberties  they  take  with  the  Hebrew  Scriptures ; 
and  that,  in  this  instance,  they  may  have  sought  to  harmonize 


394  S ACHED  RISTOBY. 

their  chronology  with  the  system  then  prevalent  in  Egypt.  In 
regard  to  the  Samaritan  reading,  it  is  shown  that  the  translator 
has  followed  the  SejDtuagint,  introducing  an  additional  gioss.^ 

With  respect  to  Paul's  statement  in  Gal.  iii.  17,  to  the  effect 
that  the  law  was  given  four  hundred  and  thirty  years  after  the 
covenant  with  Abraham,  it  is  to  be  borne  in  mind  that  Paul 
was  writing  to  the  Jews,  who  used  no  other  Bible  than  the 
Septuagint  version.  He  chose,  in  his  argument,  to  follow  that 
reading,  rather  than  confuse  the  matter  which  he  had  in  hand, 
with  a  vexed  problem  in  chronology .^  The  apostles  and  evan- 
gelists frequently  quoted  the  Septuagint,  even  when  that  version 
deviated  from  the  Hebrew  text. 

Next,  on  the  hypothesis  of  the  shorter  computation,  the  in- 
terval which  separated  the  birth  of  Moses  from  the  death  of 
Joseph  is  reduced  to  sixty-two  years.  Joseph  was  about  thirty- 
seven  years  old  when  Jacob  removed  to  Egypt.  Joseph  died 
at  the  age  of  one  hundred  and  ten,  or  seventy-three  years  after 
Jacob  came.  Moses  was  eighty  years  old  at  the  exodus  ;  leav- 
ing, of  the  two  hundred  and  fifteen  years,  only  sixty-two  years 
for  the  interval  between  the  death  of  Joseph  and  the  birth  of 
Moses.  Usher  assigns  sixty-four  years  to  the  interval.  It  may 
well  be  doubted,  whether  within  so  short  a  period  as  sixty- 
two  or  sixty-four  years  the  restoration  of  the  old  Pharaohs 
was  firmly  established ;  the  services  of  Joseph  forgotten ;  the 
Hebrews  enslaved  not  only,  but  so  thoroughly  unmanned  and 
demoralized,  as  to  submit  to  pitiless  drudgery,  to  the  degradation 
of  the  lash,  and  to  the  smothering  of  their  newly-born  children. 

Something  may  be  learned  in  regard  to  the  length  of  the  so- 
journ in  Egypt,  from  the  number  of  the  Hebrews  at  the  exodus. 
The  number  of  men  capable  of  bearing  arms  at  that  time  was 
about  six  hundred  thousand,  yielding  a  population  of  at  least 
two  millions.  Jacob's  following  when  he  came  into  Egypt  may 
be  estimated  at,  say,  two  thousand.  Now,  it  is  difficult  to  be- 
lieve that  within  two  hundred  and  fifteen  years  two  thousand 
persons  could,  under  any  natural  law  of  increase,  expand  into 
one  thousand  times  that  number.  Upon  a  review  of  the  whole 
i  Keil  and  Delitzscb  on  Exod.  iii.  37.   2  Rawlinson's  Egypt  and  Babylon,  p.  198. 


DYING  JACOB  IS  INSPIRED  ISBAEL.  395 

case  it  may  be  said  that  the  longer  computation  is  sustained  by 
the  testimony  now  within  our  reach. 

Jacob  lived  seventeen  years  after  his  settlement  in  the  land 
of  Goshen,  and  Joseph  survived  his  father  fifty-four  years.  The 
narrative  of  this  period  is  limited  to  a  few  leading  events.  The 
prosperity  of  the  Hebrews  is  described.  Then  follow  the  bless- 
ings which  Jacob  pronounced  on  Joseph's  two  sons,  and  the 
prophetic  outline  which  he  drew  of  the  future  career  of  the. 
twelve  patriarchs  and  of  their  descendants.  The  Book  of  Gene- 
sis closes  with  the  death  of  Jacob  at  the  age  of  a  hundred  and 
eighty-nine  years,  and  his  burial  in  Hebron,  and  with  the  death 
of  Joseph  at  the  age  of  a  hundred  and  ten  years.  A  single 
paragraph  describes  sufficiently  the  condition  of  the  family 
during  the  life  of  Joseph.  Under  his  protection,  and  the  favor 
of  the  Egyptians  for  his  sake,  the  Hebrews  grew  rapidly  in 
numbers  and  wealth.  They  were  not  impatient  to  return  to 
the  land  of  Canaan.  And  yet,  that  Canaan  was  to  be  their 
future  home,  was  made  clear  by  the  dying  words  of  both  Jacob 
and  Joseph. 

Gex.  xlviii.  — Jacob  pronounced  his  patriarchal  blessing  upon 
Joseph's  two  sons  in  the  retirement  of  his  sick-chamber.  Con- 
trary to  Joseph's  remonstrance,  his  father  gave  the  preference 
to  Ephraim  over  his  older  brother  Manasseh.  Jacob  followed 
the  example  of  his  father  Isaac,  except  that  Jacob  did  intention- 
ally what  Isaac  did  unwittingly.  Jacob  adopted  Ephraim  and 
Manasseh  as  his  own  sons,  and  assigned  to  each  a  separate 
portion  in  the  land  of  promise.  He  declared  that  the  tribe  of 
Manasseh  should  become  a  people,  and  should  be  great ;  but  the 
tribe  of  Ephraim  should  be  greater,  and  his  seed  should  become 
the  fulness  of  nations.  Nothing  is  better  established  in  the  sub- 
sequent history  than  the  supremacy  of  the  tribe  of  Ephraim 
over  the  tribe  of  Manasseh.  It  should  be  noticed  here,  that  in 
the  beginning  of  the  chapter  it  was  Jacob  who  talked  with 
Joseph,  but  it  was  Israel  that  pronounced  the  benediction,  for 
it  was  as  Israel  that  he  was  the  bearer  of  the  promises;  and 
what  he  uttered  \yas  not  a  pious  wish  of  the  patriarch  Jacob, 
but  the  inspired  prediction  of  the  prophet  Israel. 


396  SACBEB  HISTORY. 

Gen.  xlix.  —  Shortly  after  this  mterview,  and  just  before  his 
death,  Jacob  summoned  his  sons  into  his  presence,  and  pre- 
dicted what  should  befall  them  in  the  distant  future  with  special 
reference  to  the  time  of  the  Messiah.  His  death  was  about  to 
remove  the  last  of  the  three  patriarchs  who  had  each  in  his  turn 
been  the  sole  representative  of  the  chosen  seed,  and  the  sole 
organ  of  inspiration.  His  command  was  :  "  Gather  yourselves 
together  and  hear,  ye  sons  of  Jacob,  and  hearken  unto  Israel 
your  father."  Here  again  the  distinction  appears :  Jacob  was 
his  name  as  their  natural  father,  Israel  was  his  name  as  their 
spiritual  father  and  the  prophet  of  Jehovah.  And  to  him  they 
listened  while  he  foretold  to  each  his  destiny,  beginning  with 
the  oldest.  Reuben,  being  his  first-born  son,  was  entitled  to  the 
birthright ;  and  the  birthright  consisted,  as  we  have  already 
seen,  in  a  double  portion  of  the  patrimony,  the  headship  over 
the  family,  and  the  office  of  the  priesthood.  But  the  indignity 
which  he  had  put  upon  his  father  (xxxv.  22)  cost  him  that  great 
inheritance.  The  double  portion  passed  to  Joseph's  two  sons, 
the  chieftainship  lapsed  to  Judah,  and  the  priesthood  to  Levi. 
The  later  Scriptures  show  that  the  portion  of  Reuben's  posterity 
in  Canaan  was  on  the  east  of  the  Jordan.  They  were  a  feeble 
people ;  and  neither  judge,  prophet,  nor  ruler  sprang  from  the 
tribe. 

Simeon  and  Levi  were  full  brothers  by  birth.  "  They  were 
joined  together  in  the  brotherhood  of  treachery  and  cruelty  " 
at  the  slaughter  of  the  Shechemites  (xxxiv.).  By  these  crimes, 
they  had  forfeited  not  only  the  right  of  primogeniture  which 
had  lapsed  from  Reuben,  but  their  right  also  to  a  distinct  share 
in  the  land  of  Canaan.  Jacob  said,  "  Cursed  be  their  anger,  for 
it  was  fierce ;  and  their  wrath,  for  it  was  cruel :  I  will  divide 
them  in  Jacob,  and  scatter  them  in  Israel."  This  oracle  was 
explained  and  fulfilled  when  Simeon  received  in  Canaan,  not 
an  independent  inheritance,  but  a  few  scattered  cities  in  Judah's 
lot  (1  Chron.  iv.  27)  ;  and  to  Levi  were  awarded  forty-eight 
cities  in  different  districts.  And  yet  neither  of  these  tribes 
was  excluded  from  the  community,  or  from  the  spiritual  bless- 
ings  of  the    chosen   seed;   although  they  lost,  by  reason   of 


THE  COMING   OF  SHILOII.  397 

tlie  sin  of  their  ancestors,  an  independent  landed  estate  with 
definite  metes  and  bounds.  And,  still  further,  the  tribe  of 
Levi,  as  a  reward  for  its  loyalty  at  a  later  period,  in  the  midst 
of  general  a})ostasy,  regained  the  favor  of  God,  and  obtained 
the  birthright  of  the  priesthood  which  had  lapsed  from  Reuben 
(Exod.  xxxii.  2G-29  ,  Deut.  xxxiii.  8).  The  dismembered  tribe 
of  Simeon  dwindled  into  insignificance,  and  soon  became  almost 
extinct. 

The  leading  feature  in  the  prophecy  comes  out  in  the  ]\Ies- 
sianic  promise  respecting  Judah.  Israel  assures  him  (1)  that 
he  shall  enjoy  an  unchallenged  supremacy  over  his  brethren. 
"  Thy  brethren  shall  bow  down  to  thee ; "  that  is  to  say,  the 
chieftainship  which  Reuben  lost  fell  to  Judah.  (2)  He  will 
maintain  his  supremacy  by  force  of  arms.  He  shall  be  the 
"  ancestor  of  the  lion-tribe."  His  prowess  and  power  shall 
ripen  into  irresistible  strength.  He  is  the  young  lion,  then  the 
full-grown  lion,  then  the  old  lion  (or,  as  some  read  the  text, 
the  lioness  fierce  in  the  defence  of  her  young),  going  up  to  the 
lair  in  the  mountains,  and  who  will  dare  to  beard  the  lion 
in  his  den  ?  (3)  This  dominion  shall  continue  till  Shiloh 
come. 

The  sceptre  shall  not  depart  from  Judah, 

Nor  the  ruler's  staff  from  between  his  feet, 

Until  Shiloh  come ; 

And  unto  him  shall  the  obedience  of  the  peoples  be.     (Revision.) 

Who  is  Shiloh  ?  Some  receive  it  as  a  personal  term  pointing 
to  Solomon  ;  others  as  impersonal,  describing  a  restful  or  peace- 
ful age ;  others  as  local,  referring  to  a  town  of  that  name  in 
Canaan,  so  that  the  phrase  may  read  "till  he  shall  come  to 
Shiloh."  Neither  of  these  conjectures  is  satisfactory.  The 
last  of  them,  although  entertained  by  respectable  authority,  is 
liable  to  three  exceptions:  the  town  did  not  exist  in  Jacob's 
day ;  the  tribe  of  Judah  never  came  to  Shiloh  as  tlie  seat  of 
government;  nor  did  the  loss  of  their  supremacy  occur  in  that 
city.  The  great  body  of  interpreters,  both  Jewish  and  Chris- 
tian, apply  the  title  to  the  Messiah.     The  later  Scriptures  show 


398  SACRED   HISTORY. 

that  Juclali  became  the  most  powerful  tribe  of  the  twelve ; 
that  out  of  Juclah  came  David  and  Solomon,  who  reigned  over 
all  Israel ,  that  David's  sons  in  an  unbroken  line  succeeded  to 
his  throne,  and  that  their  right  to  reign,  altliough  long  in 
abeyance,  was  never  lost,  in  contemplation  of  law,  down  to  the 
birth  of  Christ.  In  point  of  fact,  the  sceptre  did  not  depart 
from  Judah's  family  till  this  Shiloh  came.  And  when  the  Son 
of  the  Highest  came,  Jehovah  gave  to  him  the  throne  of  his 
father  David ;  and  he  shall  reign  over  the  house  of  Jacob  for- 
ever, and  of  his  kingdom  there  shall  be  no  end  (Luke  i.  32,  33). 
He  was  the  true  rest,  or  Shiloh :  "  Peace  I  leave  with  you,  my 
peace  I  give  unto  you"  (John  xiv.  27).  Afterwards  when 
the  elder  told  John  to  behold  the  Lion  of  the  tribe  of  Judah, 
he  looked,  and  behold  a  Lamb !  He  was  in  Jacob's  prophecy 
both  the  "Lion  of  the  tribe  of  Judah,"  and  the  Lamb,  the 
emblem  of  innocence  and  patient  suffering,  and  gentleness, — 
the  Shiloli.^  Judah  became,  therefore,  the  ancestor  of  Christ, 
and  the  fourth  Messianic  prophecy  was  made  a  part  of  his 
legacy.  To  the  crowning  glory  of  the  tribe,  Jacob  adds  the 
assurance  of  consummate  worldly  prosperity.  So  productive 
shall  be  his  inheritance,  that  the  ass  will  be  allowed  to  browse 
on  the  tendrils  of  the  choicest  vine ;  so  profuse  shall  be  the 
vintage,  and  so  prolific  the  flocks,  that  Judah  shall  M'ash  his 
clothes  in  the  blood  of  the  grape ;  his  eyes  shall  sparkle  with 
wine,  and  his  teeth  shall  be  white  with  milk. 

Upon  Joseph  the  patriarch  poured  out  the  fulness  of  a  loving 
heart.  He  had  already  adopted  Ephraim  and  Manasseh  as  his 
own  sons,  had  assigned  to  each  a  large  inheritance  in  the  land 
of  promise,  and  foreshown  the  future  exaltation  of  Ephraim. 
Now  Israel  invokes  upon  Joseph  by  name,  and,  through  him, 
on  Joseph's  sons,  special  blessings.  In  his  worldly  prosperity 
he  shall  resemble  the  luxuriant  vine,  its  roots  moistened  at  the 
well,  and  its  branches  overrunning  the  wall.  He  shall  be  an 
archer  also,  at  first  sorely  wounded,  but  at  last  his  bow  and  his 
right  arm  shall  abide  in  strength  derived  from  the  mighty  God 
of  Jacob,  —  the  Shepherd  and  Rock  of  Israel.  Divine  blessings 
1  Hengstenberg:  Christology,  vol.  i.  pp.  47-90. 


VIVID  PROPHETIC  PICTUEES.  399 

shall  rest  upon  Joseph  from  the  heavens,  from  the  soil  and 
streams,  —  blessings  greater  than  those  that  came  upon  his 
fathers,  rising  even  to  the  tops  of  the  everlasting  hills.  These 
profuse  benedictions  were  partly  the  expressions  of  Jacob's  love 
as  a  father  for  his  son,  and  partly  the  oracle  of  Israel,  as  a 
prophet,  in  regard  to  Joseph's  renowned  posterity  in  the  person 
of  his  younger  son  Ephraim.  But  such  was  his  nice  prophetic 
sense,  that  he  did  not  intimate  that  either  of  the  tribes  of 
Joseph's  sons  should  rise  to  supremacy  in  the  commonwealth, 
or  give  birth  to  the  Messiah.  This  distinction  was  reserved 
for  Judah.  From  him  the  covenant  seed  were  called  Jews; 
and  "  salvation  is  of  the  Jews." 

Jacob  disposed  of  the  six  tribes  which  were  of  subordinate 
importance  in  the  history,  with  a  few  touches  of  word-painting. 
Zebulun  dwells  by  the  seashore  in  the  promised  land.  Issachar 
is  a  bony  beast  of  burden,  choosing  to  lie  down  in  rich  pastures 
rather  than  to  struggle  for  liberty.  Dan  is  a  formidable  and 
wily  enemy,  a  serpent  in  the  way,  biting  tlie  heels  of  the  horse 
so  that  its  rider  falls  backward.  Gad  is  fierce  and  warlike  , 
driving  back  the  foe,  and  then  harassing  his  rear.  Asher 
luxuriates  on  dainties  fit  for  the  tables  of  kings.  Naphtali 
runs  like  a  deer  on  the  hills,  and  is  eloquent  in  prose  and  verse. 
Benjamin  is  a  wolf;  a  warrior  eager  for  booty,  and  chasing  his 
prey  from  morning  till  night.  These  six  oracles  are  left  some- 
what obscure  by  their  brevity,  and  the  metaphorical  forms  in 
which  they  are  expressed.  Dr.  Candlish  says  that  they  "  are 
so  brief  and  enigmatical  as  to  defy,  at  this  distance  of  time, 
any  thing  like  a  really  discriminating  application  of  them,  or  a 
trustworthy  historical  vindication  of  them."  "  They  doubtless 
suggested  marks  and  badges,  of  which  a  college  of  heralds 
might  have  made  good  use  in  emblazoning  the  escutcheons 
and  banners  of  the  tribes."  ^  In  other  words,  we  may  say  that 
the  strong  ass  of  Issachar,  the  horned  viper  of  Dan,  the  swift 
deer  of  Naphtali,  and  the  wolf  of  Benjamin  served  in  some 
actual  or  ideal  way  the  purposes  answered  by  the  eagle  of  the 
United  States,  the  lion  and  unicorn  of  England,  the  flying 
1  Candlish  :  Gen.,  vol.  ii.  p.  301. 


400  SACRED  HISTOBY. 

dragon  of  China,  and  the  white  elephant  of  Siam.  But  their 
prophetic  significance  should  not  be  overlooked.  Biblical 
scholars  have  pointed  out  certain  historical  events  correspond- 
ino;  with  some  of  these  utterances.  Jacob's  foreknowledo'e  of 
the  warlike  character  of  Dan,  Gad,  and  Benjamin,  is  verified 
by  the  subsequent  history ;  Naphtali's  words  of  beauty  appear 
in  the  song  of  Barak  (Judg.  v.)  ;  and  the  inheritanceas  signed 
to  Zebulun  and  Asher  corresponds  to  the  terms  of  the  oracle. 
Since  their  locations  were  determined  by  lot,  they  could  not 
have  been  foreknown  except  through  the  gift  of  prophecy. ^ 
Still  further,  the  six  tribes  which  are  most  prominent  in  Jacob's 
address  are  most  prominent  also  in  the  subsequent  histor}-; 
whereas  the  six  tribes  which  are  put  in  the  background  by 
Jacob  occupy  the  background  in  the  history.  Undoubtedly 
Jacob  spake  as  a  prophet.  And  any  fair  comparison  of  his 
utterances  respecting  his  four  older  sons  and  the  two  sons  of 
Joseph,  with  their  historical  position  and  career  in  the  promised 
land,  will  abundantly  establish  his  Divine  inspiration.  That 
gift  in  him  cannot  be  impeached,  except  on  the  pretext  of 
rationalism  that  all  prophecy  is  impossible.  And  what  will 
the  rationalists  do  with  Shiloh?  What,  indeed,  will  they  do 
with  all  the  benedictions  and  discriminating  oracles  uttered 
by  Jacob? 

From  first  to  last,  in  every  word  and  syllable,  Jacob's  utter- 
ances presuppose  the  return  of  the  chosen  seed  to  the  chosen 
land.  It  is  impossible  to  explain  them  on  any  other  supposi- 
tion. In  reading  them  we  have  the  sense,  not  of  Jacob  an  old 
man  dying  in  Egypt,  but  of  Israel,  the  prince  of  God,  standing 
with  his  sons  around  him  on  the  heights  above  Samaria,  map- 
ping out  the  country  into  twelve  portions,  and  leading  them  in 
a  journey  through  the  length  and  the  breadth  of  the  land, 
establishing  each  of  his  sons  in  his  inheritance.  In  these 
oracles  Jacob  responds  by  faith  to  the  theophany  at  Beersheba 
on  his  journey  into  Egypt :  "  I  will  go  down  with  thee  [said 
God]  into  Egypt,  and  I  will  also  surely  bring  thee  up  again  " 
(Gen.  xlvi.  4).  That  expectation  dictated  the  oath  which 
1  Keil  and  Delitzsch,  Canon  Cook,  Murphy,  on  Gen.  xlix. 


FUNERAL   MARCH   TO  HEBRON.  401 

Jacob  exacted  from  Joseph,  and  the  charge  which  he  laid  upon 
his  sons,  to  bury  him  with  his  father  in  Hebron.  He  would  not 
consent  that  his  body  should  moulder  in  a  strange  land  ;  he 
would  be  buried  with  his  fathers,  and  make  his  grave  where 
his  children  might  be  buried  around  him. 

Gen.  1.  —  Jacob  is  dead.  The  imagination  is  filled  with  the 
picture  of  his  burial.  We  witness  the  grief  of  Joseph,  bathing 
the  face  of  his  father  with  tears;  the  process  of  embalming  the 
body  by  the  Egyptian  physicians,  and  the  mourning  through 
seventy  days  in  the  court  of  Pharaoh.  We  observe  the  order 
of  the  funeral  procession,  composed  of  Joseph  and  his  brothers 
and  sons,  and  of  the  officers  of  the  palace  and  the  rulers  of  the 
land.  We  follow  the  stately  cavalcade,  guarded  b}'  chariots  and 
horsemen,  making  its  way  slowly  through  the  wilderness,  around 
the  eastern  shore  of  the  Dead  Sea,  and  over  the  fords  of  the 
Jordan.  We  reverently  wait  upon  the  funeral  ceremonies 
through  seven  days  at  Atad,  and  sjmipathize  with  the  respect- 
ful wonder  of  the  Canaanites  at  the  "grievous  mourning  of 
the  Egyptians."  We  proceed  to  the  cave  of  Machpelah,  where 
Jacob's  sons  buried  him  with  "  all  Egyptian  and  Hebrew 
honors."  Fifty  years  afterwards  Joseph  died.  He  had  taken 
an  oath  from  his  brothers,  "  God  will  surely  visit  you,  and  ye 
shall  carry  up  my  bones  from  hence."  The}'  might  not  build 
a  p3'ramid  or  a  pictured  corridor  in  Egypt  to  receive  his 
remains,  nor  adorn  his  tomb  with  the  storj^  of  his  exploits  and 
honors.  They  might  not,  shortly  after  his  death,  bury  him  in 
Canaan.  They  should  embalm  his  body,  and  keep  it  safely 
in  Egypt,  and  carry  it  with  them  to  the  promised  land  when 
they  themselves  should  go  thither.  The  significance  of  the 
immediate  burial  of  Jacob  in  Canaan,  and  of  the  retention  in 
Egypt  of  Joseph's  body,  are  every  way  remarkable.  When 
Jacob  died,  his  sons  were  happy  and  prosperous  in  Goshen. 
Joseph  was  their  protector.  Yet  they  were  strangers  in  the 
land  of  plenty  and  peace.  Egypt  was  not  their  dwelling-place, 
for  all  the  promises  were  bound  up  with  Canaan.  Jacob 
taught  them  that  lesson,  by  directing  them  to  bury  him  in 
Hebron.     The  lesson  was  repeated  as  often  as  his  sons,  one  by 


402  SACRED  HISTORY. 

one,  were  carried  over  into  Shechem,  and  laid  in  the  sepulchre 
there  (Acts  vii.  16).  When  Joseph  died,  fifty-one  years  later, 
the  long  years  of  oppression  and  misery  were  at  hand.  By 
faith  in  the  promised  deliverance,  Joseph  "gave  commandment 
concerning  his  bones"  (Heb.  xi.  22).  The  possession  of  his 
remams  reminded  the  Israelites  of  the  promises  of  God  which 
were  associated  with  them.  While  they  were  passing  through 
the  furnace  of  affliction,  the  sacred  mummy,  bearing  on  its 
bosom  the  effigies  of  Joseph,  the  great  deliverer,  was  in  some 
sort  the  prophecy  and  guaranty  of  an  escape  from  the  fires. 
The  sight  of  the  coffin  gave  them  courage  when  the  sunshine 
of  Egypt  was  turned  to  darkness,  when  its  riches  were  cor- 
rupted, when  its  luxuries  became  privations  and  woes,  and  the 
people  sighed  and  groaned  by  reason  of  their  bondage. 


NEW  EPOCH  IN  OUR  UISTORY.  403 


CHAPTER  XXVIII. 

BONDAGE. 

A  NEW  epoch  in  the  kingdom  of  God  is  marked  by  the  sepa- 
ration in  tlie  Pentateuch  of  the  Book  of  Genesis,  the  history  of 
the  patriarchate,  from  the  Book  of  Exodus,  the  history  of  the 
growth  and  maturity  of  the  embryo  which  was  planted  in 
Egypt,  and  struggled  to  its  birth  as  a  great  nation  in  the  night 
when  the  hosts  of  Jehovah  went  out  from  the  land  of  bondage. 

The  narrative  in  Genesis  ends  with  the  death  of  Joseph,  and 
is  resumed  in  Exodus  with  the  accession  to  the  throne  of  a  new 
king  who  knew  not  Joseph.  De  Wette  calls  attention  to  what 
he  calls  the  "  immense  gap  "  between  the  two  books,  and  is  of 
the  opinion  that  it  is  "  useless  to  attempt  to  restore  the  history 
and  establish  any  connection."  Bauer  says  that  "  the  historian 
leaps  over  the  lengthened  period  without  the  slightest  suspicion 
of  its  importance."  ^  To  these  strictures,  the  first  reply  is  that 
a  minute  history  of  the  interval  was  not  within  the  plan  on 
which  the  Pentateuch  was  composed.  The  time  was  occupied 
by  the  natural  expansion  of  the  people  in  numbers,  wealth,  and 
power,  and  by  the  process  of  training  them  for  their  destiny. 
No  importance  was  given  to  the  period  by  the  disclosure  of  any 
new  promise,  or  covenant,  or  theophany,  or  Messianic  prophecy, 
or  of  any  truths  before  unknown.  The  prediction  in  Gen.  xv. 
13,  to  the  effect  that  the  chosen  seed  should  dwell  in  a  strange 
land,  covers  the  ground.  The  second  answer  is  that  the  his- 
torian fills  up  the  "  gap  "  by  the  recapitulation  with  which  he 
opens  his  narrative  in  Exodus.  He  repeats  the  names  of 
Jacob's  sons,  notices  the  death  of  Joseph,  and  of  his  brothers, 

1  Kurtz  :  Old  Gov,,  ii.  145. 


404  SACEED  HISTOEY. 

and  of  all  their  generation,  and  intimates  that  up  to  that  time 
the  children  of  Israel  were  at  the  height  of  their  prosperity. 
He  then  introduces  the  story  of  the  oppression  by  mentioning 
that  a  new  king  came  to  the  throne,  who  was  ignorant  of 
Joseph.  The  narrative  of  the  intermediate  period,  though  brief, 
is  sufficient,  and  the  continuity  of  the  history  as  a  whole  is 
maintained. 

ExoD.  i.  8-22.  —  Here  begins  the  narrative  of  the  bondage 
in  Egypt :  "  and  there  arose  up  a  new  king  over  Egypt,  which 
knew  not  Joseph."  This  remark  may  mean  that  the  new  king 
intentionally  ignored,  or  "  remembered  to  forget,"  the  services 
of  Joseph.  But,  according  to  the  commonly  received  interpre- 
tation, the  lapse  of  time,  together  with  a  change  of  dynasty  and 
other  revolutions,  had  obliterated  the  memory  of  Joseph  and  of 
his  superb  administration.  The  task  of  identifying  the  new 
king  belongs  less  to  biblical  science  than  to  Egyptology. 
From  the  days  of  Eusebius  (A.  D.  270-340),  it  has  been 
thought  that  the  accession  of  this  new  king  is  accounted  for  by 
Manetho's  story  of  the  Hyksos.  The  Hyksos  were  shepherd- 
kings  from  the  East,  who  overran  Egypt,  expelled  the  royal 
family,  and  raised  one  of  their  own  sheiks  to  the  throne.  At 
the  end  of  five  hundred  and  eleven  years  the  Egyptians  drove 
away  the  invaders,  and  restored  the  native  Pharaohs  to  power. 
The  suggestion  therefore  is  that  the  new  king  was  either  a 
Hyksos,  or  a  legitimate  Pharaoh  who  came  to  the  throne  after 
the  shepherd-kings  were  deposed,  under  one  of  whom  Joseph 
had  ruled  in  Egypt.  A  true  Pharaoh  would  naturally  refuse  to 
know  him.  But  the  name  of  this  new  king  and  his  dynasty 
has  not  been  identified ;  for  the  question  whether  he  was  a 
Hyksos  or  an  acknowledged  Pharaoh  belongs  to  an  obscure 
period  of  more  than  five  hundred  years.  Nor  is  it  certain  that 
the  shepherd-kings  reigned  in  the  Delta,  the  region  occupied  by 
the  Hebrews.  And,  further,  the  truth  of  Manetho's  story  in  re- 
gard to  the  Hyksos  is  vigorously  impeached.  Keil  declares  that 
"  not  a  single  trace  of  the  Hyksos  dynasty  is  to  be  found  either 
in  or  upon  the  ancient  monuments."  ^     Hengstenberg  asserts 

1  Keil  and  Delitzsch,  i.  420,  note. 


PUARAOUS  IDENTIFIED.  405 

that  "  the  more  recent  and  solid  Egyptian  researches  have  not 
discovered  the  smallest  trace  of  the  supremacy  of  the  Hyksos 
in  Egypt.i  Among  others,  Uhlmann  has  shown  this."  Haver- 
nick  defends  at  large  this  position.^  These  authors  hold  that 
the  story  of  the  Hyksos  is  a  cUstorted  account  of  the  settlement 
of  the  Israelites  in  Egypt  and  their  expulsion,  a  clever  device 
invented  by  Manetho  to  hide  the  chagrin  of  the  Egyptians  at 
the  overthrow  of  Pharaoh. 

A  discovery  in  Egypt  made  in  1883  seems  to  have  deter- 
mined the  questions  so  long  debated  in  regard  to  the  dynasty 
which  was  in  existence  near  the  close  of  the  bondage,  and  in 
regard  to  the  names  of  the  kings  who  were  concerned  in  the 
oppression  and  deliverance  of  the  Hebrews,  and,  proximately, 
the  date  of  the  exodus.  Excavations  were  made  in  the  mounds 
of  Tel-el-Maskhutah,  not  far  from  Tel-el-Keber,  where  the 
Arabi-Pasha  war  ended.  The  mounds  were  identified  as 
the  ruins  of  Pithom,  one  of  the  "  store-cities "  built  by  the 
Hebrews.  The  fact  was  also  brought  to  light,  that  Rameses  H. 
was  the  Pharaoh  who  compelled  the  Hebrews  to  build  the 
town.^  This  discovery  supports  the  opinion  that  the  bondage 
and  exodus  took  place  under  the  nineteenth  dynasty.  From 
these  and  other  sources  we  gather  that  Seti  I.  was  the  Pharaoh 
under  whom  Moses  was  born  ;  that  Rameses  H.,  the  son  of 
Seti,  was,  when  young,  associated  with  his  father  on  the  throne ; 
that  he  reigned  sixty-seven  years ;  that  he  is  the  king  whose 
death  is  recorded  in  Exod.  ii.  23 ;  and  that  he  was  succeeded 
by  his  thirteenth  son,  Manephtah.  By  the  slaughter  of  the 
innocents,  Seti  became  the  Herod  of  his  dynasty ;  Rameses  H. 
was  the  Pharaoh  of  the  oppression,  and  Manex)htah  was  the 
Pharaoh  of  the  exodus.  Moses  was  born  in  the  reign  of  Seti, 
fled  to  Midian  from  the  wrath  of  Rameses  H.,  and  returned 
from  his  exile  during  the  reign  of  Manephtah.* 

Rameses  II.  was  raised  by  his  father  Seti  I.  to  the  joint 
occupancy  of  the  throne  at  the  age  of  sixteen,  and  reigned 
sixty-seven  years,  as  is  supposed.     His  reign  covered  the  hot- 

1  King,  of  God,  i.  240.  2  Havernick,  Introd.  to  O.  T.,  p.  235. 

8  Dr.  S.  H.  Kellogg  in  Pros.  Rev.,  1S83.    *  Osborne  :  Ancient  Egypt,  pp.  71-79. 


406  SACBEB  HISTORY. 

test  period  of  the  bondage.  This  young  king  became  the 
greatest  of  all  the  Pharaohs.  By  his  subjects  he  was  known 
as  Rameses  the  Great,  and  as  Miameon,  the  beloved  of  Ammon, 
Jupiter  Ammon,  Lord  of  the  Diadems,  God  of  both  Horizons, 
Son  of  Ra ;  by  the  Greeks  he  was  called  Sesostris  the  Great. 
He  waged  innumerable  wars,  and  that  means  the  slaughter  of 
thousands.  He  was  the  most  enterprising  builder  of  all  the 
Pharaohs,  and  that  means  the  sacrifice  of  tens  of  thousands. 
His  insatiable  passion  for  public  works  ought  to  be  taken  into 
account  in  any  conjecture  we  may  form  in  regard  to  the  labors 
which  he  exacted  of  the  Hebrews.  He  built  temples  and 
reared  monoliths  and  colossal  statues.  His  temples  were  ap- 
proached through  long  avenues  of  sphinxes.  Out  of  the  solid 
rock  at  Ipsambul  he  hewed  two  spacious  subterranean  temples, 
and  set  up  at  their  doors  four  human  figures  sixty  feet  high. 
Monuments  of  the  despot  in  countless  numbers  cumber  the 
ground  in  Egypt  and  Nubia.  Benonin  says  that  of  the  thirty- 
two  obelisks  which  yet  exist  in  Egypt  and  elsewhere,  twenty- 
one  are  either  wholly  or  in  part  due  to  him.  One  of  the  huge 
granite  columns  which  he  set  up  in  Thebes  is  now  in  Paris. 
The  magnificence  of  his  palace  was  rivalled  by  the  solemn 
grandeur  of  his  tomb.  Among  his  public  works  was  a  chain 
of  fortifications  along  the  entire  north-eastern  frontier  of  Egypt, 
for  one  hundred  and  sixty  miles.  By  his  command  immense 
dikes  were  built  on  the  Lower  Nile  and  in  the  Delta.  Canals 
were  dug,  and  cities  were  built.  His  domestic  relations  are 
brought  to  light  by  his  marriage  with  his  daughter,  the  Princess 
Bent-Anat,  and  by  the  number  of  his  cliildren,  one  hundred 
and  seventy .1  His  long  and  cruel  reign  gives  emphasis  to  the 
notice  of  his  death  in  Exod.  ii.  23 :  "  And  it  came  to  pass  in  pro- 
cess of  time  "  (in  the  course  of  many  days.  Rev.')  "  that  the  king 
of  Egypt  died."  It  is  well  said  by  Lenormant,  that  "  the  calm 
judgment  of  history  confirms  the  account  of  his  tyranny  given 
in  Exodus."  Moses  says  that  the  Hebrews  built  for  Pharaoh 
treasure-cities,  or  magazines,  for  the  materials  of  war  and  for 

1  Milman:  Hist.  Jews,  vol.  i.  p.  115.    Osborn:  Ancient  Egypt,  pp.  70  seq. 
Geikie:  Hours,  etc.,  vol.  ii.  pp.  74  seq. 


CEVELTY  OF  R AMESES  II.  407 

provisions,  in  Pithom  and  Rameses.  The  Egyptians  "made 
their  lives  bitter  with  hard  bondage  in  mortar  and  in  brick, 
and  in  all  manner  of  service  in  the  field"  (Exod.  i.  11-14). 
Mr.  Stanley  Pool,  in  describing  the  recent  excavation  at  Pithom, 
states  that  the  ten-acre  area  within  the  walls,  which  are  twenty- 
two  feet  in  thickness,  is  full  of  large  square  pits,  separated 
from  each  other  by  square  partitions,  the  bricks  made  both 
with  and  without  straw. 

The  narrative  in  the  Book  of  Exodus,  although  very  brief, 
furnishes  sufficient  information  in  regard  to  the  leading  events 
of  the  times.  The  numerical  increase  of  the  Hebrews ;  tlieir 
growing  wealth;  the  change  which  occurred  in  the  policy  of 
the  Pharaohs  towards  them,  together  with  its  occasion,  causes, 
and  results ;  the  relations  of  the  Hebrews  to  the  dominant  race 
and  to  each  other;  their  social  and  religious  condition;  the  stern 
discipline  by  which  they  were  educated  for  the  future ;  the 
means  by  which  their  amalgamation  with  the  Egyptians,  or, 
as  an  alternative,  their  extermination,  was  prevented;  the 
preparation  made  for  the  inevitable  exodus,  —  all  these  essen- 
tial points  are  cleared  up,  together  with  the  name  of  the  royal 
oppressor,  the  dynasty  to  which  he  belonged,  and  his  place  in 
that  dynasty. 

Pharaoh  avowed  the  motives  which  induced  him  to  afflict 
the  Hebrews.  Their  prodigious  growth  in  numbers  and  power 
awakened  in  him  the  apprehension  that  they  would  soon  become 
greater  and  mightier  than  the  Egyptians ;  that  they  would 
make  common  cause  with  his  enemies,  and  would  in  the  end 
quit  Egypt  forever.  If,  as  it  is  altogether  likely,  the  king  was 
aware  of  the  hope  cherished  by  the  Hebrews  in  regard  to  their 
return  to  the  fatlierland,  his  fear  of  losing  them  is  explained. 
He  adopted,  in  the  first  instance,  the  policy  of  repression  ;  and 
when  that  failed,  he  resorted  to  wholesale  infanticide.  For  the 
purpose  of  repression,  he  reduced  the  Israelites  to  compulsory 
service,  under  the  command  of  overseers,  upon  the  public 
works ;  his  intention  being  to  utilize  their  skill  and  labor,  and 
at  the  same  time  to  check  the  increase  of  their  population, 
and  extirpate    their  love  of  liberty  and   their  spirit   of  inde- 


408  S ACHED  HISTOBY. 

pendence.  Severities  like  these  were  no  novelties  in  Egypt. 
Homer  says  they  regarded  all  strangers  as  enemies,  and  either 
killed  or  enslaved  them.  According  to  Herodotus  and  Diodorus, 
the  Egyptians,  as  a  matter  of  pride,  employed  prisoners  and 
slaves,  instead  of  the  natives,  in  building  their  monuments.^  One 
might,  with  a  certain  satisfaction,  accept  the  tradition  that  their 
kings,  after  death,  were  called  to  account  for  cruelty  to  their  serfs. 
The  Hebrews  did  not,  as  has  been  imagined,  labor  on  the 
Pyramids.  These  piles  were  standing  in  the  days  of  Abraham. 
The  "  treasure-cities,"  Pithom  and  Rameses,  were  built  in 
Goshen,  and  the  toils  of  the  laborers  were  in  some  degree 
modified  by  the  nearness  of  their  homes.  So  it  was  that  the 
king  saw,  to  his  chagrin,  that  the  bondsmen  multiplied  in 
proportion  to  their  afflictions.  Their  oppressor  was  thwarted, 
though  he  knew  it  not,  by  the  supernatural  powers  that  took 
the  side  of  the  oppressed.  And  yet,  instead  of  accepting  the 
omen,  he  ventured  on  another  expedient.  He  imbittered  the 
lives  of  his  unhappy  victims  with  a  more  cruel  bondage,  in 
mortar  and  brick  not  only,  but  in  the  irrigation  of  the  land  by 
use  of  the  tread-wheel,  —  a  drudgery  which  gradually  paralyzed 
the  most  strenuous  muscle,  and  filled  the  springs  of  life  with 
malarial  poison.  Ebu-Ezra  sees  in  these  labors  the  progress  of 
the  cruel  exactions.  From  the  public  works  in  Goshen,  the 
people  were  sent  far  away  into  the  service  of  irresponsible 
masters  scattered  throughout  Lower  Egypt.  Rosellini,  a  cele- 
brated Egyptologist,  describes  a  picture  discovered  in  a  tomb 
at  Thebes,  in  which  workmen,  whose  physiognoni}^  and  beards 
show  that  they  are  not  Egyptians,  are  represented  as  making 
brick,  whilst  two  Egyptians  are  shown  standing  by  and  armed 
with  sticks,  ready  to  fall  on  the  laborers.  Copies  of  the  picture 
may  be  found  in  the  books.  An  abundant  caution  may  lead 
us  to  hesitate  in  regard  to  Rosellini's  confident  opinion  that 
these  slaves  are  Hebrews ;  but  the  picture  may  be  taken  as  a 
fair  representation  of  the  sufferings  which  in  all  probability 
were  inflicted  upon  them  by  these  pitiless  taskmasters.^     The 

1  Hengstenberg:  King,  of  God,  ii.  24,  i.2. 

2  Hengstenberg:  Egypt  and  Books  of  Moses,  pp.  80,  81. 


FAILURE  OF  li AMESES'   POLICY.  409 

mortality  wliicli  niiglit  be  expected  to  pursue  the  miserable 
bondsmen  may  be  estimated  from  two  circumstances.  In  the 
century  of  Rameses  the  Great,  the  Pharaoh  of  the  oppression, 
thirty  thousand  laborers  died  in  constructing  the  Mahmoudieh 
Canal  with  their  hands,  without  picks  or  spades  or  wheel- 
barrows. In  the  reign  of  Pharaoh  Necho,  one  hundred  and 
twenty  thousand  men  died  in  excavating  the  canal  to  unite  the 
Nile  and  the  Red  Sea ;  and,  after  all,  the  scheme  was  abandoned 
in  obedience  to  an  adverse  oracle.^ 

It  would  seem,  however,  that  no  such  mortality  fell  upon  the 
Israelites ;  for  the  king,  as  if  disappointed  by  the  failure  of  his 
policy  of  repression  by  hard  labor,  resorted  to  infanticide,  in 
order  to  reduce  the  numbers  and  break  the  spirit  of  the  people. 
He  directed  the  mid  wives  to  kill  all  the  newly-born  male  chil- 
dren of  the  Hebrews ;  and  when  the  order  was  evaded  by  a 
clever  device  of  these  women,  he  commanded  the  mothers  to 
drown  their  infant  sons.  By  a  refinement  of  cruelty  to  which 
the  Herod  of  the  future  was  not  equal,  he  required  parents 
to  execute  the  sentence  of  death  on  their  own  children.  But 
the  plan  failed  through  the  maternal  tenderness  of  the  women, 
and  the  faithfulness  of  God  to  his  promises.  As  if  to  empha- 
size the  defeat  of  the  heathen  king,  the  historian  is  careful  to 
mention  that  Moses,  the  future  deliverer  of  Israel,  was  born 
and  saved  alive  in  the  midst  of  the  wholesale  infanticides. 

This  part  of  the  history  is,  in  some  sort,  prophetic  of  the 
future.  The  slaughter  of  the  Hebrew  children  under  one 
Pharaoh  was  avenged  in  the  destruction  of  the  first-born  in 
Egypt,  in  the  reign  of  another  Pharaoh  ;  and  the  hardening 
of  the  heart  of  the  first  oppressor,  under  the  repeated  failures  of 
his  plans  to  diminish  the  numbers  and  to  subjugate  the  ^^'ill 
of  the  people,  re-appeared  in  the  hardening  of  the  heart  of  his 
successor  when  the  plagues  poured  their  fury  upon  him.  The 
birth  of  Moses  gives  intimation  of  the  purpose  of  Jehovah  to 
rescue  his  people  from  bondage.  Their  spiritual  servitude 
called  not  less  urgently  for  Divine  interposition.  The  moral  and 
religious  degeneracy  of  the  chosen  seed  is  fully  exposed  in  the 

1  Geikie:  Hours,  etc.,  ii.  79,  80. 


410  SACRED  HISTORY, 

record.  They  served  tlie  gods  of  Egypt,  descending  even  to 
the  disgusting  goat-worship  of  tlie  heathen.  The  Lord  said 
to  Moses,  "  They  shall  no  more  offer  their  sacrifices  unto  devils" 
(lit,  shaggy  ones,  he-goats)  "  after  whom  they  have  gone  a-whor- 
ing"  (Lev.  xvii.  7).  At  Sinai  they  set  up  the  calf,  a  favorite 
Egyptian  idol.  The  inveterate  crime  of  idolatry  did  not  disap- 
pear until  the  captivity  in  Babylon,  when,  by  a  singular  course 
of  providence,  the  Hebrews  were  cured  in  pagan  Chaldsea  of 
a  moral  leprosy  contracted  in  pagan  Egypt.  The  worship 
of  Jehovah  by  the  bondsmen  in  Egypt  went  gradually  into 
disuse.  What  Moses  said  to  Pharaoh  (Exod.  viii.  26)  indicates 
the  entire  suspension  of  the  Hebrew  sacrifices  in  Egypt,  at  least 
as  a  public  service.  Nor  is  it  probable  that  the  bondsmen  were 
allowed  to  rest  from  labor  on  the  sabbath ;  the  phraseology  in 
Exod.  xvi.  22,  23,  indicates  the  renewal  of  an  appointment  of 
the  holy  day  which  had  fallen  into  neglect.  The  spiritual  de- 
generacy became  desperate.  That  it  became  hereditary,  as  it 
were,  is  shown  by  the  repeated  murmurings  and  insurrections 
in  the  wilderness,  and  more  decisively  by  the  judgment  of  God, 
under  which  every  grown  man  who  came  out  of  Egypt,  two 
only  excepted,  died  in  the  wilderness. 

Yet,  in  the  midst  of  this  apostasy,  a  certain  number  served 
the  Lord.  Paul  mentions  the  parents  of  Moses,  and  Moses 
himself,  among  those  who  were  illustrious  for  their  faith  (Heb. 
xi.  23-25).  There  were  midwives,  also,  who  "feared  God,  and 
did  not  as  the  king  commanded  them."  Besides  these  instances 
of  piety  among  individuals,  there  are  several  indications  of  a 
religious  conscience  in  the  body  of  the  people.  One  is  to  be 
recognized  in  the  proper  names  used  among  them,  in  which  the 
syllable  Ul,  the  Hebrew  term  for  God,  appears ;  as  in  Elzephan, 
Eleazar,  Jemuel,  and  Uzziel  (Exod.  vi. ;  Num.  iii.).  Another 
indication  is  found  in  the  scrupulous  observance  of  circumcision 
in  Egypt  (Josh.  v.  5)  ;  and  what  is  still  more  decisive,  Moses, 
as  the  ambassador  of  Jehovah,  the  God  of  their  fathers,  got  a 
hearing  among  them  (Exod.  iii.  15,  vi.  3).  How  far  these  cir- 
cumstances are  to  be  referred  to  a  lino-erinsr  recog^nition  of 
Jehovah  as  their  God,  and  their  own  covenant  relation  to  him. 


UXDER  A  DOUBLE  BONDAGE.  411 

and  how  far  they  are  to  be  resolved  into  an  attachment  for  tra- 
ditional ideas,  cannot  be  known  ;  but  the  true  heirs  of  the  cove- 
nant were  not  extinct.  There  was  an  Israel  according  to  the 
spirit,  as  well  as  an  Israel  after  the  flesh ;  there  was  "  an 
election  within  an  election." 

The  double  bondage  of  the  chosen  seed  —  a  bondage  to  the 
taskmasters,  and  a  bondage  to  false  worship — was  in  some 
sense  prophetic  of  a  new  development  in  the  history  of  redemp- 
tion. True,  the  Church  is  almost  apostate,  but  it  is  the  only 
visible  kingdom  of  God  on  earth.  The  sincere  worshippers  of 
God  are  in  its  bosom  ;  these  he  will  not  forsake.  They  are  his 
people  by  covenant  with  Abraham ;  he  will  not  be  unmindful 
of  his  covenant.  To  Abraham  he  said,  "  That  nation  whom 
they  serve  will  I  judge,  and  afterwards  they  shall  come  out 
with  great  substance ; "  and  to  Jacob,  "  I  will  go  down  with 
thee  into  Egypt,  and  I  will  also  surely  bring  thee  up  again." 
The  case,  as  made,  demands  the  interposition  of  Jehovah,  lest 
his  word  and  covenant  and  oath  should  fail,  and  the  plan  of 
redemption  which  is  inextricably  woven  into  the  career  of  the 
Hebrews  should  come  to  naught  under  the  wondering  stars. 
The  dignus  vindice  nodus  was  taken  into  God's  hands.  He  will, 
in  his  own  time,  loosen  it  by  making  bare  his  arm  for  the 
deliverance  of  his  people. 

The  nature  of  the  deliverance  is  foreshown  in  the  condition 
of  Israel.  The  vine  must  be  brought  out  of  Egypt,  and  trans- 
planted in  a  new  region.  The  Church  must  be  removed  to  a 
place  where  the  knoAvledge  of  the  true  God  may  be  revealed 
within  it,  and  where  all  the  institutes  of  true  religion  may  be 
established.  Not  only  this,  but  a  work  of  spiritual  renewal 
must  be  wrought  within  the  Church.  Of  what  avail  were  it 
to  transplant,  unchanged,  these  degraded  bondsmen?  There 
are  idolaters  enough  in  Canaan  already;  why  add  two  millions 
to  their  number?  They  must  be  taught  to  fear  the  Lord, 
and  to  worship  him  only ;  a  new  heart  and  a  new  spirit  must 
be  given  to  tliem.  A  twofold  deliverance  was  indispensable  : 
on  the  one  part,  external,  from  slaverj-  in  Egypt;  on  the  other, 
spiritual,  from  their  native  and  acquired  depravity.     In  short, 


412  S ACHED  BISTORT. 

there  must  occur  a  national  exodus  and  a  national  regenera- 
tion. These  are  the  two  luminous  points  in  the  history  of 
the  departure  from  Egypt,  and  the  discipline  of  the  wilder- 
ness. 

The  basis,  the  rule,  and  the  end  of  the  approaching  deliver- 
ance are  set  before  us.  The  basis  was  the  grace  of  God.  If  it 
be  asked,  Why  did  not  God  cast  off  this  rebellious  people  ?  the 
answer  must  ^-esolve  it  into  his  distinguishing  grace ;  first  choos- 
ing, then  redeeming  from  bondage,  then  planting  in  Canaan, 
this  particular  stock  of  the  race.  The  same  grace,  meanwhile, 
secured  the  salvation  of  such  of  them  as  were  ordained  unto 
eternal  life.  The  rule  of  the  deliverance  was  the  covenant 
made  four  hundred  and  thirty  years  before  with  Abrah:.m. 
This  instrument  is  steadily  brought  forward  in  the  history  as 
its  controlling  element.  When  God  heard  the  groaning  of  the 
children  of  Israel,  "  he  remembered  his  covenant  with  Abraham, 
with  Isaac,  and  Jacob "  (Exod.  ii.  24).  "  I  have  established 
ray  covenant  with  them,  to  give  them  the  land  of  Canaan ; " 
.  .  .  "I  have  remembered  my  covenant;"  ...  "I  will  bring 
you  unto  the  land  concerning  which  I  sware  to  give  it  to 
Abraham  and  Isaac  and  Jacob  "  (Exod.  vi.  3-8 ;  comp.  Ps.  cv. 
8,  cvi.  45).  It  is  impossible  to  comprehend  the  meaning  of 
these  events,  except  by  observing  how  thoroughl}^  they  were 
controlled  by  the  stipulations  of  this  covenant,  the  organic  law 
of  the  forces  which  shaped  and  ruled  the  entire  future  of  the 
chosen  seed.  The  end  of  this  deliverance  was  the  glory  of 
God  in  the  salvation  of  the  race.  The  final  purpose  of  God's 
dealings  witli  Israel  was  not  to  set  up  an  opulent  and  powerful 
nation,  nor  to  secure  the  spiritual  welfare  of  the  Hebrews 
alone,  but  the  salvation  of  the  Gentiles  as  well.  The  Jews 
were  the  beneficiaries  not  cfiily,  but  the  vehicles  also,  of  saving 
grace ;  the  dispensation  which  was  granted  to  them  was  pre- 
paratory to  that  which  is  more  glorious,  and  which  is  this  day 
the  inheritance  of  us  all.  The  way  for  the  coming  of  Christ 
was  prepared  in  tlie  period  before  the  bondage,  and  in  all  the 
events  which  marked  every  succeeding  era,  through  the  golden 
age  of  Judaism  in  the  reign  of  David,  thence  onward  to  the 


TRIBAL   OBGANIZATION.  413 

decline  of  the  commonwealth  in  the  period  of  the  monarch}^, 
and  its  fall  in  the  reign  of  Herod. 

Towards  the  close  of  the  sojourn  in  Egypt,  the  providential 
plans  for  the  exodus  approached  maturity.  When  the  family 
went  into  Egypt,  they  expected  to  remain  there  no  longer 
than  the  continuance  of  the  famine.  Before  the  new  kinsf 
arose,  and  while  the  people  were  free,  some  of  Ephraim's  sons 
attempted  to  anticipate  God's  appointments,  and  to  take  pos- 
session of  Southern  Palestine,  but  were  repelled  with  heavy 
losses  (1  Chron.  vii.  20-22).  But  as  the  set  time  approached, 
the  signs  of  its  coming  appeared.  By  way  of  outward  prepara- 
tion, the  population  had  swelled  to  numbers  sufficient  to  en- 
counter the  hostile  tribes  in  the  wilderness,  and  to  gain,  with 
the  help  of  God,  by  an  easy  victory,  the  conquest  of  Canaan. 
To  a  large  extent  the  chosen  seed  were,  even  to  the  last, 
isolated  both  locally  and  socially  from  the  Egyptians,  gathered 
in  a  compact  body,  and  dwelling  on  the  edge  of  the  wilderness 
through  which  their  journey  was  to  be  made. 

The  Hebrews  were  fully  equipped  for  the  march.  Instead 
of  an  organization  founded  on  the  Egyj^tian  idea  of  caste, 
they  received  a  form  of  government  founded  in  the  idea  of  a 
family.  Tribal  distinctions,  proceeding  from  the  original  patri- 
archal unity,  were  established.  These  tribes  lived  under  the 
rule,  not  of  a  common  sheik,  but  each  tribe  was  governed  by 
its  own  ruling  elders.  While  Moses  was  in  exile  in  Midian, 
God  said  to  him,  "  Go  and  gather  the  elders  of  Israel 
together,"  etc.;  "And  thou  shalt  come,  thou  and  the  elders  of 
Israel,  unto  the  king  of  Egypt."  Again  we  read  that  Moses 
and  Aaron,  on  their  arrival  in  Egypt,  "went  and  gathered 
together  also  the  elders  of  the  children  of  Israel"  (Exod.  iii, 
16,  18,  iv.  29).  Afterwards  it  is  sttid  thixt  "  Moses  called  for 
all  the  elders  of  Israel,"  and  gave  them  directions  in  regard 
to  the  passover.  Still  later,  he  smote  the  rock  "  in  the  sight 
of  the  elders  of  Israel"  (Exod.  xvii.  5,  6).  Notices  to  the 
same  effect  occur,  over  and  over  again,  in  the  subsequent 
history.  This  organization  was  peculiar  to  the  Hebrews,  and 
contributed  largely  to  the  success  of  the  exodus. 


414  SACRED  HISTORY. 

Next,  by  way  of  tlie  preparation  of  will  and  heart  for  the 
journey,  all  the  traditions  of  the  people,  religious  and  national, 
pointed  to  Canaan  as  their  future  home.  The  gift  which  God 
made  to  Abraham  of  Palestine  as  the  sure  and  everlasting 
possession  of  his  posterity ;  the  promise  that  the  fourth  genera- 
tion should  actually  enter  on  the  inheritance ;  the  oath  which 
Jacob  when  dying  had  exacted  from  Joseph  respecting  his 
burial  in  Hebron ;  the  funeral  caravan  of  the  family,  with  the 
pomp  of  Egypt  and  Israel,  fulfilling  the  terms  of  the  oath; 
the  commandment  which  Joseph  gave  concerning  his  bones, 
and  the  presence  among  them  of  the  coffin  waiting  for  the 
exodus,  —  were  memorials  which  had  neither  passed  away  nor 
lost  their  power. 

And  yet  influences  more  potent  than  traditional  ideas  were 
needed  to  loosen  the  attachment  of  the  Hebrews  for  Egypt. 
The  problem  of  an  emigration,  such  as  was  contemplated  in  the 
plan  of  Providence  for  this  people,  has  been  mastered  but  once 
in  the  history  of  the  world,  and  that  instance  is  in  this  record. 
Colonies  innumerable  have  been  planted  by  adventurers  like  the 
Phoenicians,  by  survivors  of  a  ruined  country  like  the  Trojans, 
by  exiles  for  conscience'  sake  like  the  Pilgrim  Fathers  of  New 
England,  by  trading  companies,  by  gold-hunters,  and  land- 
hunters.  Indeed,  the  race  has  spread  over  the  earth,  from  its 
original  centre  in  Asia,  by  a  series  of  successive  migrations. 
These,  however,  have  been  offshoots  simply  from  their  native 
stocks,  a  few  departing  from  the  many.  Armies  of  picked  and 
disciplined  soldiers  have  marched  through  vast  regions  in  flying 
columns,  cut  off  from  the  base  of  supplies,  and  leaving  the 
rear  iniprotected ;  but  when,  before  or  since  the  days  of  Moses, 
has  an  entire  nation,  counted  by  millions,  with  its  helpless 
ones,  the  young,  the  old,  the  sick,  been  taken  up  in  a  body, 
formed  into  a  caravan,  and  transplanted  to  a  distant  region  ? 
When  has  a  whole  people  voluntarily  quitted  a  country  like 
Egypt,  at  that  time  the  garden  and  granary  of  the  world, 
unrivalled  for  its  rainless  sky  and  perpetual  verdure  and  inex- 
haustible soil  and  luxurious  climate  ?  When  did  such  a  nation 
willingly  abandon  a  region  like  the  Delta  of  the  Nile,  and 


NOT  SELF-EMANCIPATED.  415 

boldly  strike  out  into  a  region  like  the  Desert  of  Arabia? 
The  attachment  of  the  Hebrews  to  Egj^pt  is  shown  in  their 
murmuring  in  the  wilderness  at  Moses  for  bringing  them  away, 
and  their  attempt  to  return  (Exod.  xvi.  3 ;  Num.  xi.  5,  xiv.  4). 
The  problem  of  the  departure  was  solved  partly  by  the  rod 
of  oppression;  and  yet  not  wholly,  for  the  experience  of  the 
American  Colonization  Society  shows  how  difficult  it  is  to 
persuade  even  an  enslaved  race  to  leave  the  soil  on  which  they 
have  been  born,  for  the  home  of  their  ancestors.  The  afflictions 
of  the  Hebrews  in  Egypt  were  intolerable,  and  they  threatened 
to  become  perpetual.  The  death  of  the  tyrant  who  murdered 
their  infant  sons  brought  no  relief,  and  the  bondage  was  as 
cruel  as  ever  (Exod.  ii.  23).  But  their  sufferings  did  not  lead 
them  to  make  insurrection  with  one  accord,  and  to  fly  self- 
emancipated  out  of  Egypt.  Their  cry  came  up  unto  God,  and 
God  heard  their  groaning.  Their  sufferings  prepared  them 
to  depart  at  the  time  when  God  would  plague  the  Egyptians 
until  the  oppressors  themselves  should,  for  very  terror,  send  his 
people  out  of  the  land  (Exod.  xii.  30-33). 


416  SACBED  HISTORY. 


CHAPTER  XXTX. 

MOSES. 

ExoD.  ii.,  iii.,  iv.  1-17.  —  Stephen  divides  the  life  of  Moses 
into  three  equal  periods  (Acts  vii.  23,  30,  36).  He  was  in 
the  Egyptian  court  forty  years,  in  Midian  forty  years,  with  the 
Israelites  in  the  wilderness  forty  years. 

ExoD.  ii.  1-10.  —  "•  When  the  tale  of  bricks  is  doubled,  then 
comes  Moses,"  saith  the  proverb.  In  his  person,  the  future  of 
the  chosen  seed  was  at  this  time  represented.  This  one  man 
was  the  deliverer  of  Israel,  the  commander  of  the  people 
through  forty  years,  the  inspired  historian,  the  Divine  oracle, 
and  the  type  of  Christ  as  a  prophet.  His  biography  shows 
how  he  was  prepared  by  his  birth,  his  preservation  from  death 
in  infancy,  his  education  in  Egypt,  and  his  discipline  in  INIidian, 
for  his  great  offices.  He  was  a  Hebrew  child,  of  the  tribe  of 
Levi ;  Amram  was  his  father,  and  Jochebed  his  mother.  Like 
the  greater  Prophet  of  whom  he  was  the  type,  he  was  a  partaker 
of  the  flesh  and  blood  and  of  the  reproach  of  the  people  whom 
he  served  and  saved.  His  birth  took  place  when  Pharaoh's 
edict  of  infanticide  was  in  full  force.  The  Assyrian  mythology 
supplies  a  curious  parallel  with  the  story  of  the  infant  Moses  ; 
"  I  am  Sargina,  the  great  king,  the  king  of  Agani.  My  mother 
gave  birth  to  me  in  a  secret  place.  She  placed  me  in  an  ark 
of  bulrushes,  and  closed  up  the  door  with  slime  and  pitch. 
She  cast  me  into  the  river."  ^  Pharaoh's  edict  secured  not  the 
untimely  death  of  the  child,  but  his  adoption  as  a  son  by  a 
princess  of  the  blood-royal.  She  is  identified  by  the  latest 
authorities  with  Thermouthis.     She  was  the  daughter  of  Seti  I., 

1  Fausset :  Bib.  Cyclo,,  p.  485. 


OPPORTUNITIES  FOR  LEARNING.  417 

and  the  sister  of  Rameses  the  Great ;  Rameses  and  Moses  having, 
as  is  supposed,  been  born  about  the  same  time.  Accord- 
ing to  this  chronology,  INIoses  flourished  in  tlie  nineteenth 
dynasty ;  its  date  being  not  earlier  than  B.C.  1462,  nor  later 
than  B.C.  1340.^  Moreover,  Moses  was  born  in  the  reign  of 
Seti  I.,  the  Pharaoh  of  the  bondage ;  fled  from  Egypt  in  the 
reign  of  Rameses  II.,  the  Pharaoh  of  the  oppression;  and  re- 
turned to  Egypt  in  the  reign  of  Menephtah  L,  the  Pharaoh  of 
the  exodus. 

The  parents  of  Moses,  and  the  princess  who  adopted  him, 
resided,  as  is  supposed,  near  Tanis,  or  Zoan,  now  San,  east  of 
the  Tanitic  branch  of  the  Nile.  His  Hebrew  mother  became 
his  nurse.  We  must  presume  that  she  did  not  fail  to  pre-occupy 
the  mind  of  her  child  with  Hebrew  ideas  and  sympathies.  In 
due  time  he  became  an  inmate  of  the  palace.  The  absence  of 
self-consciousness,  which  was  one  of  the  leading  characteristics 
of  Moses,  led  him  to  withhold  an  important  fact  supplied  by 
Stephen :  "  He  was  learned  in  all  the  wisdom  of  the  Egyp- 
tians." The  Hebrew  and  Egyptian  traditions  agree  in  saying 
that  he  was  educated  at  Heliopolis,  and  grew  up  there  as  a 
priest  under  the  name  of  Osarsiph  or  Terithen.^  This  tradi- 
tion cannot  be  fully  verified.  But  it  is  well  known  that  the 
learning  of  Egypt  in  the  age  of  Moses,  besides  the  arts  of 
reading  and  writing,  embraced  the  sciences  of  arithmetic, 
geometry,  trigonometry,  and  astronomy.  The  pyramids  and 
other  colossal  structures,  which  still  exist  in  their  integrity  or 
ruins,  point  to  the  knowledge  of  architecture  and  its  kindred 
arts.  That  some  branches-  of  animal  and  vegetable  chemistry 
and  of  medicine  were  cultivated,  is  proved  by  the  practice  of 
embalming  the  bodies  of  the  dead,  at  that  time  a  familiar  but 
now  a  lost  art.  The  ease  with  which  Moses  reduced  to  powder 
the  golden  calf  in  the  wilderness  indicates  in  him  a  practical 
acquaintance  with  the  working  of  metals.  Among  other  orna- 
mental arts,  the  Egyptians  excelled  in  the  use  of  bright  and 
enduring  colors  in  painting.  Music  on  many  instruments  gave 
animation  to  their  religious  ceremonies.  The  song  of  Moses  at 
1  Osborn :  Ancient  Egypt,  pp.  70-77.  ^  Stanley  :  Jewish  Ch.,  i.  117. 


418  SACBED  HISTORY. 

the  Red  Sea  shows  that  he  was  educated  in  the  art  of  poetry, 
and  the  mstrumental  accompaniment  of  Miriam  and  the  women 
reveals  the  invention  of  the  timbrel  and  the  dance  (Exod.  xv.). 
Stephen's  estimate  of  the  attainments  of  Moses  is  justified  by 
the  breadth  of  his  understanding,  by  his  educational  advan- 
tages as  the  foster-son  of  Pharaoh's  daughter,  and  by  the  length 
of  his  residence  in  Egypt,  forty  years,  before  his  flight  into 
Arabia. 

The  overruling  providence  of  God  is  conspicuously  set  forth 
in  the  narrative.  The  birth  of  Moses,  under  the  rule  of  a 
typical  forerunner  of  Herod,  would  seem  to  be  ill-timed:  he 
was  exposed  at  the  Nile  to  premature  death.  "  The  pleasures 
of  sin "  and  the  "  treasures  of  Egypt "  lavished  upon  him  in 
the  palace  of  the  royal  princess  threatened  his  manliness  and 
purity.  His  education  as  an  Egyptian,  possibly  as  a  priest, 
separated  him  apparently  from  the  Hebrews,  and  identified 
him  with  their  oppressors.  And  yet  the  providence  and  grace 
of  God  shaped  all  these  influences  towards  the  vocation  that 
was  in  reserve  for  him.  Schiller's  remark  is,  "An  Egyptian 
by  birth  would  have  lacked  the  requisite  patriotic  impulse,  the 
national  interest  for  the  Hebrews,  to  attempt  their  deliverance. 
A  mere  Hebrew,  on  the  other  hand,  would,  under  his  oppres- 
sion and  thraldom,  scarcely  have  had  the  energy  and  courage 
indispensable  for  such  an  a'rduous  undertaking.  What  device, 
therefore,  did  Providence  choose?  It  selected  an  Israelite,  but 
withdrew  him  in  early  infancy  from  the  miseries  of  his  people, 
and  enabled  him  to  store  his  mind  with  all  the  treasures  of 
Egyptian  wisdom ;  and  thus  the  Hebrew  brought  up  as  an 
Egyptian  became  the  instrument  by  which  the  nation  was 
redeemed  from  slavery."^ 

Exod.  ii.  11-14;  Acts  vii.  23-28;  Heb.  xi.  24-26.  — When 
Moses  was  fully  forty  years  old,  he  entered  on  the  second 
epoch  of  his  life.  "  It  came  into  his  heart "  —  doubtless  it  was 
a  Divine  suggestion  —  "to  visit  his  brethren,  the  children  of 
Israel,"  for  the  purpose  of  looking  into  their  unhappy  condition, 
and  of  ascertaining  what  he  could  do  for  their  relief.     Accounts 

1  Die  Sendung  Moses,  x.  pp.  414, 415. 


PUTS  urn  SELF  IN   THE    WRONG.  419 

of  this  visit  are  given  by  Moses  very  briefly,  by  Stephen  more  in 
detail,  and  by  Paul  who  describes  also  the  gracious  influence  by 
which  Moses  was  guided.  It  so  fell  out  that  he  saw  an  Egyp- 
tian, no  doubt  a  taskmaster  (Exod.  ii.  11),  flogging  a  Hebrew. 
The  officers  were  armed  for  that  purpose,  according  to  some, 
with  the  bastinado ;  according  to  others,  with  the  long  heavy 
scourge  made  of  tough  and  pliant  wood,  a  growth  of  Syria. 
Moses  doubtless  knew  that  the  castigation  was  not  of  excep- 
tional but  of  habitual  cruelty  (Exod.  v.  6-14).  The  remark  of 
Moses,  that  the  victim  was  "a  Hebrew,  one  of  his  brethren," 
explains  the  natural  indignation  under  which  he  slew  the  Egyp- 
tian on  the  spot,  and  hid  his  dead  body  in  the  sand.  On  the 
next  day  he  attempted  to  restrain  a  Hebrew  who  was  wrong- 
fully maltreating  another  Hebrew.  The  assailant  resented 
the  interference  of  Moses :  "  Wilt  thou  kill  me  as  thou  didst  the 
Egyptian  yesterday  ? "  Moses  perceived  that  the  man  whom 
he  had  protected  from  cruelty  had  betrayed  the  secret.  Pharaoh 
heard  what  Moses  had  done,  and  sought  to  slay  him.  With  a 
full  appreciation  of  all  that  was  noble  in  the  impulse  of  Moses, 
it  must  be  said  that  he  put  himself  in  the  wrong.  The  brutal 
taskmaster  deserved  punishment,  possibly  death.  But  the  con- 
science of  Moses  accused  him  of  unjustifiable  homicide.  He 
did  not  slay  his  man  until  he  had  looked  this  way  and  that  way, 
and  saw  that  there  were  no  witnesses ;  he  hid  the  body  in  the 
sand ;  he  made  no  defence  when  charged  with  the  act,  and,  he 
fled  the  kingdom.     That  he  identified  himself  with  his  brethren, 

,  not  on  his  own  motion  but  under  a  Divine  impulse,  may  be 
assumed.  That  his  position  in  Pharaoh's  court  clothed  him 
with  a  certain  authority,  may  also  be  assumed  ;  for  the  taunt  of 
the  angry  Hebrew,  "  Who  made  thee  ruler  or  a  judge  over  us?" 
may  imply  that  Moses  was  asserting  some  legal  right  in  his  first 

^  visit  to  protect  his  kinsmen,  and  in  his  second  visit  to  require 
the  Hebrews  to  keep  the  peace  among  themselves.  And  yet  it 
must  be  said,  that,  in  killing  his  man,  he  acted  without  color  of 
authority,  either  from  God  or  the  king.  Augustine  utters  the 
dictates  of  an  enlightened  conscience  when  he  says,  comparing 
this  act  with  that  of  Peter  in  smiting  Malchus,  "  Each  of  them, 


420  SACRED  HISTORY. 

not  by  blamable  cruolty,  but  by  excess  of  a  brave  spirit,  passed 
the  ordinary  rule  of  justice ;  each  through  hatred  of  another's 
wickedness,  the  one  through  love  of  his  brother,  the  other  of 
his  Lord, — carnal  in  both  cases,  yet  love,  —  committed  a  sin.''^ 

Stephen  points  out  the  error  of  Moses  and  the  error  of  the 
Hebrews  in  this  transaction:  "He  smote  the  Egyptian,  for  he 
su[;posed  his  brethren  would  have  understood  how  God  by  his 
hand  would  deliver  them  ;  but  they  understood  not"  (Acts  vii. 
24,  25).  Moses  erred  in  attempting  to  enter  prematurely  on 
his  vocation  as  the  liberator  of  the  Hebrews,  running  before  he 
was  sent.  He  was  also  presumptuous,  thinking  that  by  "  his 
hand,"  by  his  personal  wisdom  and  strength,  God  would  deliver 
the  people.  The  Hebrews  were  stupid  and  unbelieving.  They 
failed  to  see  in  the  boldness  of  Moses,  and  in  God's  special  care 
over  him,  the  evidence  that  he  was  divinely  chosen  to  be  their 
deliverer.  He  risked  every  thing  in  striking  a  blow  for  their 
emancipation.  They,  in  their  want  of  manliness,  abandoned 
him.  Judgment  took  effect  upon  both  parties.  Moses  was 
driven  into  exile  for  the  term  of  forty  years,  and  the  bondage  of 
the  Hebrews  was  prolonged  through  the  same  period,  —  the  life- 
time of  a  generation.  After  the  same  example  of  unbelief  then- 
posterity  wandered  in  the  wilderness  forty  years.  It  should  be 
added  that  Stephen  ilsed  this  incident  to  show  that  the  Jews 
had  rejected  Jesus  just  as  their  fathers  had  rejected  Moses; 
God  having  appointed  Jesus  to  save  them,  just  as  he  had  before 
appointed  Moses  to  break  the  yoke  of  their  bondage. 

Paul  celebrates  in  glowing  terms  the  heroic  faith  exhibited 
by  Moses,  when  he  identified  himself  with  the  peo2:)le  of  God. 
Pie  voluntarily  abandoned  his  position  as  the  adopted  son  of 
the  royal  princess  -,  he  renounced  the  pleasures  of  sin,  and  all 
share  in  the  wealth  of  Egypt.  Nor  was  this  done  by  a  youth 
in  a  moment  of  enthusiasm,  but  by  a  self-poised  man,  forty  ^ 
years  old.  When  it  is  said  that  he  rose  above  the  i)leasures  of 
sin,  it  is  not  intimated  that  he  was  chargeable  with  the  vicious 
indulgence  of  his  senses  or  appetites  or  passions,  but  simply 
that  he  resisted  all  the  seductive  temptations  to  which  he  was 

1  Alford:  Exod.  ii.  12. 


AFFLICTION  EICHER   THAN  EICHES.  421 

exposed  in  a  serai-tropical  climate  ;  in  a  luxurious  home  on 
a  soil  of  boundless  fertility ;  among  a  people  who  neither  loved 
nor  feared  God,  and  who,  if  we  may  give  such  a  turn  to  the 
words  of  Peter,  were  walking  "in  lasciviousness,  lusts,  excess 
of  wine,  revellings,  banquetings,  and  abominable  idolatries." 
The  value  of  the  treasures  of  Egypt,  an  expectation  of  which 
he  relinquished,  may  be  measured  by  the  magnificence  of  the 
Hall  of  Columns,  begun  by  Seti  in  the  early  life  of  Moses,  and 
finished  by  Raraeses  the  Great  after  Moses  was  grown.  The 
Egyptologists  invite  us  to  imagine  a  forest  of  towers ;  columns 
a  hundred  and  forty  in  number,  the  highest  seventy  feet  high 
and  eleven  feet  in  diameter,  covered  with  bas-reliefs  and  hiero- 
glyphics ,  the  hall  three  hundred  and  forty  feet  long  and  one 
hundred  and  seventy  wide.  Champollion  says  of  it,  "  Were  I 
to  attempt  a  feeble  sketch,  far  from  highly  colored,  I  should 
jtass  for  an  enthusiast,  and  perhaps  for  a  fool."  "No  language," 
says  Ferguson,  "  can  convey  an  idea  of  its  beauty."  ^  More- 
over, in  order  to  estimate  the  faith  by  which  Moses  was  con- 
trolled, we  must  consider  what  he  chose  in  place  of  what  he 
refused.  For  he  chose  to  suffer  affliction  with  the  people  of 
God,  rather  than  to  enjoy  the  pleasures  of  sin ;  and  he  con- 
sidered reproach  like  that  which  Christ,  or  that  which  Christ's 
disciples,  endured,  to  be  greater  riches  than  all  the  wealth  of 
Egypt.  Paul  closes  his  eulogium  on  Moses  with  the  remark, 
"  By  faith  he  forsook  Egypt,  not  fearing  the  wrath  of  the  king ; 
for  he  endured  as  seeing  hira  who  is  invisible"  (v.  27).  The 
first  clause  refers  not  to  his  early  flight  from  Egypt,  but  to  his 
triumphant  departure  in  command  of  the  Hebrew  hosts  at  the 
exodus.  The  last  clause  should  be  taken  in  connection  with 
the  end  of  verse  26  :  "  He  had  respect  to  the  recompense  of  the 
reward,"  —  even  life  everlasting,  a  place  by  the  side  of  Elijah 
with  Jesus  at  the  transfiguration,  and  the  authorship  of  a 
song  to  the  Lamb,  sung  by  the  glorious  company  of  martyrs. 

ExoD.  ii.  15-22.  —  On  his  escape  from  Egypt,  INloses  fled 
into  the  deserts  east  of  the  Red  Sea.  The  narrative  is  silent 
in  regard  to  the  journey  until  it  brings  him  to  a  sheep-well,  the 

1  Osboru:  Ancient  Egypt,  pp.  153,  154. 


422  SACRED  HISTORY. 

sign  of  a  country  inhabited  by  Bedouin  shepherds.  Moses  sat 
down  by  the  well.  Here  the  story  of  Jacob's  arrival  at  Padan- 
aram  repeats  itself.  The  daughters  of  a  neighboring  sheik 
bring  his  flock  to  the  well.  With  his  characteristic  manliness, 
Moses  protects  the  shepherdesses  from  the  rudeness  of  a  party 
of  untamed  hirelings,  and  assists  them  in  watering  their  flock. 
The  Egyptian,  as  the  maidens  call  him,  was  immediately  wel- 
comed by  their  father  to  the  hospitalities  of  his  tent ;  and  there 
he  found  a  home.  The  region  to  which  Moses  had  come  was 
Midian,  situated  in  the  eastern  and  south-eastern  regions  of  the 
peninsula  of  Sinai,  and  within  easy  reach  of  Horeb,  whither 
Moses  afterwards  led  his  flocks  (Exod.  iii.  1).  The  people 
were  the  distant  kinsmen  of  Moses;  descendants  of  Midian, 
one  of  the  sons  of  Abraham  in  his  marriage  with  Keturah  (Gen. 
XXV.  2).  The  chief  was  Reuel,  the  Raguel  of  Num.  x.  29.  The 
syllable  Ul  defines  his  name,  —  the  friend  of  God.  He  was  not 
only  the  sheik,  but  the  priest  also,  of  Midian.  His  name  Jethro, 
or  "  his  excellency,"  was  a  title  indicating  his  princely  and 
priestly  dignity.  He  had  seven  daughters,  among  whom  was 
Zipporah,  the  future  wife  of  Moses.  Hobab,  who  was  long 
afterwards  the  counsellor  and  companion  of  Moses  in  the  wan- 
dering, was  either  the  son  or  the  younger  brother  of  Reuel.  It 
would  seem  that  the  sheik  and  his  family  were,  in  some  sense, 
the  worshippers  of  the  true  God.  The  position  of  their  re- 
nowned ancestor  Abraham,  his  theism,  and  the  revelations 
made  to  him,  lingered  in  the  traditions  of  these  people.  Yet 
they  dwelt  under  the  shadows  of  approaching  heathenism.  The 
sacrament  of  circumcision  had  fallen  into  disuse,  if  not  disrepute 
(Exod.  iv.  24-26).  Their  indifference  to  the  promises  made  to 
Abraham  may  be  inferred  from  the  little  that  Moses  thought 
it  worth  while  to  communicate  to  them  respecting  the  destiny 
of  the  chosen  seed,  until  the  appearance  of  the  Israelites  at 
Horeb  (Exod.  xviii.  1). 

We  have  only  meagre  information  of  the  life  of  Moses  in 
Midian.  Yet  enough  is  divulged  to  show,  that,  unconsciously 
perhaps  to  himself,  he  was  trained  for  the  work  that  he  was  to 
do.     He  had  been  forty  years  in  the  school  of  human  wisdom 


BETIBEMENT  FOR   SOUL-GROWTH.  423 

in  Egypt ;  thence  he  went  forty  years  to  the  school  of  Divine 
wisdom,  within  sight  of  Mount  Sinai.  Ample  oj)portiinity  was 
afforded  him  for  spiritual  culture.  Not  a  few  men  of  broad 
understanding,  and  uncommon  force  of  character,  have  been 
providentially  sent  into  retirement  for  calm  reflection  and 
prayer.  Paul,  after  his  baptism  by  Ananias  in  Damascus,  spent 
three  inactive  years  in  Arabia.  Augustine,  after  receiving  bap- 
tism from  Ambrose  in  Milan,  passed  several  silent  years  in 
Tageste,  Africa.  In  like  manner,  Moses  became  a  shepherd, 
leading  his  flocks,  forty  years  long,  as  far  as  Horeb.  In  those 
solitudes,  isolated  from  kindred  and  enemies  and  from  all  the 
world,  it  is  right  to  imagine  that  he  meditated  profoundly  on 
the  history  of  the  chosen  seed,  beginning  with  the  call  of  Abra- 
ham ;  on  the  theophanies  which  God  had  granted  to  the  older 
patriarchs ;  on  the  everlasting  covenants  which  he  had  made 
with  them ;  on  the  mysterious  bondage  in  Egypt,  and  on  the 
promise  of  deliverance.  His  personal  experience  also  taught 
him  the  much-needed  lesson  of  humility.  He  could  not  forget 
that  he  was  the  adopted  son  of  the  king's  daughter,  the  inmate 
of  her  palace,  bred  in  luxury,  taught  in  sufficient  learning. 
Now  he  is  a  fugitive  from  the  wrath  of  the  king,  if  not  from 
public  justice,  separated  also  from  his  kindred;  he  is  a  stranger 
in  a  strange  land,  the  servant  of  a  Bedouin  chief,  eating  the 
bread  of  dependence  or  of  servile  toil.  He  was  not  understood, 
perhaps  misunderstood,  by  the  family  of  Jethro.  The  exalted 
position  to  which  he  was  destined,  the  masterful  capacities  that 
were  in  him,  and  his  proficiency  in  Egyptian  learning,  were 
hidden  under  the  menial  position  of  a  hireling. 

He  was  unhappily  married.  The  incident  recorded  in  Exod. 
iv.  24,  shows  that  Zipporah  was  self-willed  and  quarrelsome; 
that  she  was  not  in  sympathy  with  his  religious  convictions  ; 
that  she  had  persuaded  him  to  neglect  the  circumcision  of  their 
youngest  son  ;  and  that  she  was  capable  of  expressing  contempt 
for  that  sacrament,  even  when  the  life  of  her  husband  depended 
on  its  observance.  The  names  which  he  gave  to  his  children 
in  Midian  tell  the  story  of  his  discipline.  He  called  his  first 
son  Gershom;  for,  said  he,  "I  have  been  a  stranger  in  a  strange 


424  SACRED  HISTORY. 

land"  (Exod.  ii.  22).  But  this  despondency  in  due  time  gave 
way  to  a  more  grateful  memory  and  to  a  better  hope  for  the 
future.  He  named  his  second  son  Eliezer;  "for  the  God  of  my 
fathers,"  said  he,  "was  mine  help,  and  delivered  me  from  the 
sword  of  Pharaoh." 

Exod.  ii.  22-25.  —  Moses  devotes  a  few  words  only  to  his 
residence  of  forty  years  in  Midian.  He  mentions  his  introduc- 
tion to  Jethro's  family,  his  marriage,  and  the  names  of  his  two 
sons,  and  is  done  with  the  subject.  Meanwhile  Rameses  II., 
by  whom,  jointly  with  his  father  Seti  I.,  the  Hebrews  were 
enslaved,  had  died ;  and  Manephtah,  the  thirteenth  son  of 
Rameses,  had  come  to  the  throne.  If  the  Hebrews  had  ex- 
pected relief  on  the  accession  of  a  new  king,  the}^  were  sorely 
disappointed.  Deliverance  was  about  to  come  from  a  higher 
source.  For  their  "  cry  came  up  unto  God ; "  "  and  God  heard 
their  groanings,  and  God  remembered  his  covenant."  The 
thoughtful  reader  will  not  overlook  the  importance  which  God 
himself  invariably  attached  to  his  everlasting  covenant  with 
Abraham,  Isaac,  and  Jacob.  Here  the  mention  of  the  engage- 
ments opens  the  way  for  a  copious  narrative  of  the  measures 
which  the  Almighty  adopted  to  make  them  good. 

Exod.  iii.  —  The  Hebrew  shepherd  had  led  Jethro's  flocks  to 
the  juicy  herbs  and  grapes,  and  aromatic  shrubs,  and  to  the 
springs  of  water,  which  abounded  near  Horeb,  the  future 
mountain  of  God.  He  saw  in  the  distance  a  thorn-bush  ap- 
parently on  fire.  The  fire  was  not  a  consuming,  but  a  shining 
flame.  He  turned  aside  to  see  why  the  bush  was  not  con- 
sumed. God  called  to  him  out  of  the  bush,  warning  him  not 
to  draw  near,  but  to  put  his  shoes  from  off  his  feet,  for  the 
place  where  he  stood  was  holy  ground.  This  "great  sight"  was 
a  true  theophany,  the  first  that  had  appeared  since  Jacob  was 
at  Beersheba  nearly  four  hundred  years  before ;  the  first,  also, 
that  had  assumed  the  form  of  a  flame,  since  a  smoking  furnace 
and  a  burning  lamp  passed  between  the  pieces  of  Abraham's 
sacrifice  in  the  day  when  Jehovah  made  his  covenant  with  the 
patriarch.  The  place  of  the  vision  cannot  be  identified.  In 
the  sixth  century  of  the  Christian  era,  two  thousand  years 


TIIEOrUANY  AT   THE  BUSH.  425 

after  the  exodus,  Justinian  built  the  convent  of  St.  Catharine 
on  the  spot  where,  according  to  the  traditions  then  received, 
Moses  removed  his  sandals.  The  monks  assert  that  the  great 
altar  of  the  convent  marks  the  precise  place  made  holy  by  the 
burning  bush.  Very  few  visitors  are  disposed,  while  enjoying 
the  hospitalities  of  the  monks,  to  challenge  openly  their  inno- 
cent traditions. 

The  significance  of  the  miracle  which  Moses  saw  corre- 
sponded to  the  verbal  message  which  he  heard.  The  bush  was 
probably  the  wild  acacia,  indigenous  to  the  desert ;  an  insig- 
nificant shrub,  —  a  symbol,  therefore,  of  the  Hebrews  in  their 
humiliation.  The  unconsuming  flame  which  glowed  in  the 
bush  was  the  symbol  of  the  chosen  seed  cast  into  the  iron 
furnace  of  Egypt  (Deut.  iv.  20),  but  saved  from  destruction. 
Even  so,  in  the  after-ages,  three  Hebrew  children  walked  unin- 
jured in  the  furnace  at  Babylon.  In  modern  times  the  Church 
of  Scotland  adorned  her  banner  with  the  picture  of  a  burning 
bush,  and  the  legend  '•'■Nee  tanien  consumebatur,''  —  the  sign  of  a 
church  persecuted,  ecdesia  pressa,  and  victorious,  ecclesia  trium- 
phans.  The  awful  presence  in  the  bush  at  Horeb,  filled  with 
undestroying  fire,  was  a  notable  Divine  manifestation.  The 
name  of  the  Almighty  appears  twenty-four  times  in  eighteen 
verses.  He  is  called  interchangeably  God,  Jehovah,  the  Angel 
of  Jehovah,  Jehovah  God,  I  AM  THAT  I  AM,  and  I  AM. 
The  identity  of  the  Jehovah-Angel  with  Jehovah  himself  and 
with  God  is  established:  he  who  aj)peared  to  Mose&  in  the  bush 
is  the  Angel  Jehovah  (Exod.  iii.  2),  he  Avhom  Moses  turned 
aside  to  see  is  Jeliovah  (ver.  4),  and  he  who  called  to  Moses 
out  of  the  bush  is  God  (ver.  4).  Some  authors,  holding  to  the 
documentary  hypothesis,  maintain  that  the  chapter  is  Jchovist, 
although  the  name  Elohim  occurs  seventeen  tiines,  and  the 
name  Jehovah  six  times  only.  In  order  to  meet  this  difficulty, 
some  of  the  writers  propose  to  break  up  the  chapter  into  frag- 
ments, and  distribute  them  to  suit  the  theory;  notwithstanding 
the  internal  evidence  of  the  organic  unity  of  the  narrative. 
The  hypothesis  can  take  nothing  from  this  chapter.^  Lest 
1  Speaker's  Com.,  in  Exod.  iii.  1. 


426  SACRED   HISTORY. 

Moses  should  be  in  doubt  as  to  the  Beiug  who  was  calling  to 
him  out  of  the  bush,  the  voice  added,  "I  am  the  God  of 
Abraham,  and  the  God  of  Isaac,  and  the  God  of  Jacob." 
While  the  shepherd  stood  speechless,  his  bare  feet  rooted  to  the 
ground,  and  his  face  hidden  in  his  robe,  Jehovah  told  him 
that  he  had  seen  the  affliction  of  his  people  in  Egypt,  and 
knew  their  "sorrows,"  and  that  he  had  come  down  to  lead 
them  to  the  land  of  Canaan.  Jehovah  then  appointed  him  to 
be  the  liberator  of  the  Hebrews :  "  Come  now,  therefore,  and 
I  will  send  thee  to  Pharaoh,  that  thou  mayest  bring  forth  my 
people,  the  children  of  Israel,  out  of  Egj^pt." 

ExOD.  iii.  11-22,  iv.  1-23.  —  INIoses  frankly  confesses  his  un- 
worthy reluctance  to  meet  the  responsibilities  and  difficulties  of 
his  great  office.  The  excessive  self-confidence  which  had  led 
him  forty  years  before  to  undertake  unbidden  the  liberation 
of  his  kindred,  had  given  place  to  a  painful  self-distrust.  He 
offered  a  series  of  excuses  for  declining  the  work  to  which  God 
was  calling  him.  "  Who  am  I,"  asked  he,  "  that  I  should  go 
unto  Pharaoh,  and  that  I  should  bring  forth  the  children  of 
Israel  out  of  Egypt  ?  "  Jehovah  graciously  replied,  "  Surely  I 
will  be  with  thee  ; "  adding  the  assurance,  every  way  signifi- 
cant, that  the  Hebrews  should  come  out  of  Egypt,  and  offer 
sacrifices  to  God  at  that  very  mountain  where  God  was  talking 
with  him.  Moses  still  hesitated.  How  should  he  answer  the 
challenge  of  the  Hebrews,  "  Tell  us  who  sent  you  to  us  ? " 
God  replied,  "I  AM  THAT  I  AM;"  and  he  said,  "Thus  shalt 
thou  say,  I  AM  hath  sent  thee."  And  then,  by  way  of  bra- 
cing up  the  resolution  of  Moses,  he  authorized  him  to  assure 
the  people  that  the  God  of  their  fathers  had  marked  well  their 
sufferings,  and  that  he  was  resolved  to  bring  them  out  of  the 
brickyards  of  Egypt  to  a  land  flowing  with  milk  and  honey. 
Moreover,  he  assured  Moses  that  the  elders  should  go  with  him 
to  Pharaoh  to  demand  the  liberation  of  the  Hebrews ;  that  he 
would  use  the  resources  of  omnipotence  to  put  down  the  oppo- 
sition of  the  king;  and  that  he  would  see  to  it  that  they  should 
go  out  of  Egypt  not  empty-handed,  but  loaded  down  with  the 
riches  of  their  oppressors.      Moses  started  a  third  difficulty. 


BRACED   UP  BY  SIGNS  AND    WONDERS.  427 

The  people,  lie  said,  would  refuse  to  listen  to  liim ;  they  would 
say,  "  Jehovah  hath  not  appeared  unto  thee."  This  suggestion 
was  not  without  some  color  of  plausibility;  for  God  had  not 
appeared  to  any  Israelite  since  the  theoi^hany  which  Jacob  saw 
on  his  way  to  Egypt,  several  hundred  years  ago.  Now,  how- 
ever, God  removed  the  scruple  of  Moses  by  furnishing  him 
with  credentials  of  his  Divine  vocation  in  the  form  of  three 
supernatural  signs,  two  of  which  were  forthwith  shown  to 
Moses  for  his  encouragement;  and  these  two,  together  with  the 
third,  were  to  be  exhibited  in  Egypt  to  the  Hebrews  and  to 
Pharaoh,  proving  that  God  had  sent  Moses  to  them.  For  the 
first  sign,  God  directed  Moses  to  cast  his  shei^herd's  staff  to  the 
ground.  He  did  so  ;  the  staff  became  a  viper,  and  Moses  fled. 
At  God's  command,  he  took  the  serpent  by  the  tail,  and  it 
became  a  staff  again.  In  the  spitefulness  of  the  serpent,  Moses 
was  forewarned  of  the  anger  with  which  Pharaoh  would  repel 
Aaron  and  himself ;  Moses  was  reminded  by  his  flight,  of  his 
unwillingness  to  encounter  the  anger  of  Pharaoh ;  and  in  the 
paralysis  of  the  reptile,  he  recognized  the  impotence  of  the  king. 
For  the  second  sign,  the  hand  of  Moses  put  into  his  bosom 
became  "  leprous  as  snow  ; "  put  into  his  bosom  a  second  time, 
it  was  "  turned  again  as  his  other  flesh."  A  symbol  this  was 
of  the  degradation  and  defilement  which  had  happened  to 
Israel  in  idolatrous  Egypt,  and  of  the  purification  which  should 
be  wrought  in  them  by  the  grace  of  God.  For  a  third  sign, 
the  power  which  should  be  given  to  Moses,  to  turn  the  Avaters 
of  the  Nile  into  blood,  was  reserved  for  his  mission  in  Egypt. 
These  three  miracles  were  to  be  shown  to  the  enslaved  Hebrews, 
for  whom,  indeed,  they  were  primarily  and  chiefly  intended. 
The  wonders  of  the  staff  and  of  the  blood  were  to  be  shown 
also  to  Pharaoh,  as  evidences  of  the  supreme  power  of  Jehovah, 
and  as  credentials  of  the  Divine  mission  of  Moses  and  Aaron. 
The  details  will  be  considered  hereafter.  Moses  interposed 
another  objection.  He  could  not  talk  to  the  king;  for,  said- 
he,  "I  am  slow  of  speech  and  of  a  slow  tongue."  He  was, 
perhaps,  a  stammerer  like  the  young  Demosthenes ;  or  he 
thought  his  "  speech  was   contemptible,"   as  long  afterwards 


428  SACBED  HISTOBY. 

Paul  described  his  own  utterance.  But  the  answer  and  rebuke 
of  God  was,  "  Who  hath  made  man's  mouth  ?  .  .  .  Have  not  I 
the  Lord?  Now  therefore  go,  and  I  will  be  with  thy  mouth, 
and  teach  thee  what  thou  shalt  say."  Moses  was  silenced.  His 
scruples  had  been  met  and  removed  one  by  one ,  and  nothing 
was  left  but  to  yield  them  frankly,  or  to  fall  back  on  the  real 
source  of  them  all,  —  an  unwillingness  to  undertake  the  work 
which  God  had  given  him  to  do.  He  chose  the  latter  course, 
and  begged  that  some  one,  other  than  himself,  might  be  sent  to 
Egypt.  Jehovah  was  angry,  and  sharply  rebuked  his  disobedi- 
ence. But  seeing  that  it  proceeded  from  nothing  more  blame- 
worthy than  excessive  self-distrust,  God  condescended  to  tell 
him  that  his  brother  Aaron  should  go  with  him  to  Egypt,  and 
he  should  take  with  him  his  shepherd's  staff.  Aaron,  who  was 
fluent  in  speech  and  eloquent,  should  be  his  spokesman,  and 
address  Pharaoh  and  the  people  under  the  dictation  of  Moses ; 
the  staff  should  be  his  instrument  in  the  working  of  penal 
signs  and  wonders.  Moses  instantly  accepted  his  vocation, 
and  thereupon  he  became  another  man.  The  impetuosity  with 
which  forty  years  before  he  had,  unbidden,  espoused  the  cause 
of  his  people,  and  the  despair  with  which  he  abandoned  the 
cause  after  striking  a  single  unsuccessful  blow,  now  gave  place 
to  waiting  upon  God,  and  boldness  in  doing  his  will.  Instead 
of  the  rash  and  impatient  son  of  Pharaoh's  daughter,  at  forty 
years  of  age,  the  shepherd  of  Midian,  at  eighty,  was  ready  to 
meet  the  provocations  of  an  unbelieving  and  stiff-neclvcd  people 
with  meekness  and  long-suffering.  It  is  worthy  of  notice, 
moreover,  that,  among  the  excuses  which  he  urged  for  declin- 
ing to  go  to  Egypt,  there  is  not  one  that  carries  with  it  a 
symptom  of  personal  fear.  In  his  many  interviews  with  the 
king  and  people  of  Egypt  he  exhibited,  though  in  the  quietest 
way  possible,  a  courage  which  never  flinched  and  never  vaunted 
itself.  What  Paul  says  of  the  close  of  the  brave  man's  mission 
to  Egypt,  is  true  of  its  entire  history:  "By  faith  he  forsook 
Egypt,  not  fearing  the  wrath  of  the  king."  Moses  returned 
without  delay  to  the  tents  of  Jethro,  and  made  preparations  for 
his  departure  to  Egypt.     He  gave  to  his  father-in-law  no  other 


TUE  BESUREECTION  TAUGHT.  429 

reason  for  his  journey  than  a  desire  to  see  his  kindred.  Jethro 
had  never  understood  Moses  or  his  position.  In  his  ignorance 
of  the  pkm  of  Providence  respecting  the  chosen  seed  and  their 
destiny,  he  was  not  prepared  to  comprehend  the  Divine  voca- 
tion which  his  son-in-hiw  had  received  at  the  burning  bush. 
Moses,  therefore,  offered  no  explanation  of  his  proposed  journey. 

In  the  theophany  of  the  bush,  God  said  to  Moses,  "  I  am  the 
God  of  thy  father,  the  God  of  Abraham,  the  God  of  Isaac,  and 
the  God  of  Jacob"  (Exod.  iii.  G).  We  ought  not  to  over- 
look the  light  which  this  oracle,  as  interpreted  by  Christ,  casts 
upon  the  Mosaic  authorship  of  the  Pentateuch,  the  plenary 
inspiration  of  Moses,  and  the  doctrine  of  the  resurrection  of 
those  who  die  in  the  Lord.  The  Sadducees,  who  said  there 
was  no  resurrection,  proposed  to  our  Saviour  their  favorite 
puzzle  of  the  woman  who  had  been  married  to  seven  husbands. 
The  Master  gave  the  well-known  and  complete  solution  of  the 
problem.     He  then  cited  the  oracle  of  the  bush,  thus :  — 

"  But  as  touching  the  resurrection  of  the  dead,  have  ye  not 
read  that  which  was  spoken  unto  you "  (i.e.,  the  descendants 
of  Abraham)  "  by  God,  saying,  I  am  the  God  of  Abraham,  and 
the  God  of  Isaac,  and  the  God  of  Jacob?  God  is  not  the  God 
of  the  dead,  but  of  the  living"  (Matt.  xxii.  31,  32). 

"  And  as  touching  the  dead,  that  they  rise  :  have  ye  not  read 
in  the  book  of  Moses,  how  in  the  bush  God  spake  unto  him, 
saying,  I  am  the  God  of  Abraham,  and  the  God  of  Isaa^,  and 
the  God  of  Jacob?"  (Mark  xii.  26.) 

"Now  that  the  dead  are  raised,  even  Moses  showed  at  the  bush, 
when  he  calleth  the  Lord  the  God  of  Abraham,  and  the  God  of 
Isaac,  and  the  God  of  Jacob.  For  he  is  not  a  God  of  the  dead, 
but  of  the  living :  for  all  five  unto  him  "  (Luke  xx.  37,  38). 

Our  Lord  asserts  that  Moses  wrote  the  Pentateuch,  for  he 
called  it  the  "book  of  Moses"  (Mark).  He  assumes  that 
Moses  was  inspired  to  the  extent  of  a  verbal  accuracy ;  for  he 
rests  his  argument  on  the  very  words  in  which  the  oracle  Avas 
conveyed.  Still  further,  the  great  Teacher  declares  that  certain 
words  were  spoken  by  God  (Matthew  and  Mark),  and  that  Moses 
uttered  thera  (Luke).     That  is  to  say,  what  God  said,  Moses 


430  SACRED  HISTOEY. 

said  ;  what  Moses  said,  God  said :  expressions  pointing  directly 
to  the  plenary  inspiration  of  Moses.  Next,  our  Lord's  discourse 
related  specifically  to  the  resurrection  of  the  dead ;  not,  as  some 
have  thought,  merely  to  the  continued  existence  of  the  soul 
after  death.  The  Sadducees  attempted  to  discredit  the  fact  of 
the  resurrection ;  and  Christ's  answer  was  directly  responsive 
to  that,  and  to  no  other  question.  The  three  Evangelists  agree 
in  this.  Matthew  says  that  Christ  introduced  the  oracle  at 
the  bush  with  the  words,  "  As  touching  the  resurrection  of  the 
dead,  have  ye  not  heard,"  etc.  Mark  quotes  Christ  thus : 
"  And  as  touching  the  dead,  that  they  rise,  have  ye  not  read 
in  the  book  of  Moses  ?  "  etc.  Luke  cites  him  thus :  "  Now,  that 
the  dead  are  raised,  even  Moses  showed  at  the  bush,"  etc.  The 
continued  existence  of  the  soul  after  death  is  involved  in  the 
statement ;  but  the  precise  truth  which  our  Lord  deduces  from 
the  words  spoken  to  Moses  is  the  fact  of  the  resurrection.  That, 
says  Christ,  is  the  meaning  of  the  oracle,  its  true  and  real  sense 
is  there.     The  INIaster  proceeds  to  clear  up  the  subject. 

The  word  of  Jehovah  is,  "  I  am  the  God  of  thy  fathers,  the 
God  of  Abraham,  the  God  of  Isaac,  and  the  God  of  Jacob." 
Christ's  exposition  of  the  word  is,  "  For  God  is  not  the  God  of 
the  dead,  but  of  the  living :  for  all  live  unto  him  "  (Luke).  Of 
the  testimony  this  is  the  sum.  (1)  The  expression,  "  I  am  the 
God  of  Abraham,"  etc.,  points  to  the  covenant  which  God  made 
with  the  three  patriarchs.  The  first  promise  in  the  Abrahamic 
covenant  is  in  these  words  :  "  I  wdll  be  a  God  unto  thee  and  to 
thy  seed  after  thee  "  (Gen.  xvii.  7).  This  covenant  was  renewed 
to  Isaac  and  to  Jacob.  When  God  heard  the  groaning  of  his 
people  in  Egypt,  "  he  remembered  his  covenant  with  Abraham, 
with  Isaac,  and  with  Jacob"  (Exod.  ii.  24).  At  the  bush  God 
recalls  the  promise,  and  with  the  promise  the  covenant  contain- 
ing it ;  saying,  "  I  am  the  God  of  Abraham,"  etc.  (2)  This 
covenant  was,  as  we  have  seen,  a  manifestation  of  the  covenant 
of  life,  delivered  to  our  first  parents.  Its  consummate  promise 
was  life,  —  life  to  the  body,  life  to  the  soul.  Christ  declared 
that  "  God  is  not  the  God  of  the  dead,  but  of  the  living ; "  not 
the  God  of  the  disembodied  spirits  only  of  the  patriarchs,  but 


GOD  IS   THE  GOD   OF  LIVING  BEINGS.  431 

of  their  total  personality ;  not  the  God  of  Abraham  dead  and 
turned  to  dust,  but  of  Abraham  alive  in  the  body,  and  alive  in 
the  soul.  The  living  God  gives,  by  his  power,  life  to  his  own ; 
but  Abraham's  soul  is  not  the  entire  Abraham,  and  without  the 
body  Abraham  is  not  entirely  living.  So  long  as  the  body  lies 
dead  in  the  earth,  the  divided  man  is  still  reckoned  among 
the  dead.  While  his  body  is  mouldering  in  the  grave,  "the 
expression,  I  am  thy  God,  cannot  be  fulfilled  in  the  man;  for 
God  is  not  a  God  of  the  dead,  but  of  the  living."  ^  (3)  It  may 
well  be  said,  that  Abraham  received  in  his  flesh  the  seal  of  the 
promise,  even  circumcision,  showing  that  the  plan  of  redemp- 
tion extends  to  the  body  as  well  as  to  the  soul ;  and  that  God 
is,  to  the  whole  extent  of  the  proposition,  the  God  not  of  the 
dead  man,  but  of  the  living,  —  the  man  alive  all  over,  alive 
throughout  and  throughout,  and  alive  for  evermore.  (4)  The 
same  is  true  not  only  of  the  patriarchs,  but  of  all  true  believers. 
By  virtue  of  the  covenant  between  God  and  his  people,  they 
are  always  living  beings ;  they  possess  the  life  that  proceeds 
from  God.  When  the  bodies  moulder  in  the  ground,  the  soul 
of  the  righteous  is  received  into  the  highest  heavens,  waiting 
for  the  redemption  of  the  body.  And  more  than  that :  under 
the  foreseeing  eye  of  God,  the  patriarchs  and  all  saints  stand 
forth  in  their  resurrection  bodies.  That  eye  looks  beyond  the 
narrow  grave,  and  beholds  them  risen  from  the  dead,  and  re- 
instated and  rehabilitated  in  angel-like  glory.  (5)  Some  of  our 
learned  interpreters  go  a  step  farther.  They  hold  that  the 
promise  of  the  land  of  Canaan  to  the  patriarchs,  for  an  ever- 
lasting possession,  is  still  outstanding,  and  will  be  fulfilled  by 
the  power  of  God  raising  the  three  pilgrim  fathers  from  the 
tomb  at  Machpelah,  and  putting  them  in  personal  possession 
of  the  land  of  Canaan.  But  the  belief  which  has  gained  more 
general  acceptance  is,  that  this  promise  is  to  be  made  good  by 
the  ingathering  of  all  the  people  of  God,  after  the  resurrection 
of  the  just,  into  the  "  better  country,  even  a  heavenly,"  unto 
which  the  patriarchs  looked  forward  while  they  were  pilgrims 
and  strangers  in  the  earthly  Canaan. 

1  Stier:  Words  of  Jesus,  iii.  173. 


432  SACEED  EISTOEY. 

It  ought  not  to  be  said  that  our  Lord  gives  the  oracle  an 
interpretation  which  no  one  would  have  ever  thought  of  on  any 
principle  of  biblical  exegesis.  A  knowledge  of  the  meaning  of 
the  covenant,  which  God  made  with  the  fathers,  would  lead 
an  intelligent  believer  to  the  conclusion  announced  by  Christ. 
It  was  obscure  to  the  Sadducees ;  but  the  difficult}^  was  not  in 
the  words  of  Jehovah,  but  in  their  own  twofold  ignorance  . 
"  they  erred  not  knowing  the  scriptures  nor  the  power  of  God." 
Undoubtedly,  the  inward  illumination  of  the  Spirit  of  God  is 
necessary  for  the  saving  understanding  of  such  things  as  are 
revealed  in  the  word  of  God ;  and  yet  it  is  right  to  believe 
that  such  an  illumination  is  not  beyond  the  reach  of  a  devout 
and  humble  disciple.  To  this  it  may  be  added,  that,  in  point 
of  fact,  the  meaning  of  the  oracle  lay  so  near  the  surface,  that 
a  few  words  from  Christ  put  the  Sadducees  to  silence ;  drew 
from  certain  of  the  scribes,  who  were  the  official  expounders 
of  the  Scriptures,  the  tribute  of  admiration,  "  Master,  thou  hast 
well  said  -, "  and  filled  the  bj^standers  with  amazement  at  the 
brightness  of  the  light  that  Christ  had  now  cast  into  their  dark- 
ness  (Matt.  xxii.  33,  34;  Luke  xx.  39).  Nor  is  there  any  occa- 
sion for  the  surprise  with  which  some  have  noticed  that  our 
Lord  passed  by  passages  in  the  Old  Testament,  such  as  Job 
xix.  25-27,  Ps.  xlix.  15,  Isa.  xxvi.  19,  Dan.  xii.  1-3,  where  the 
doctrine  of  the  resurrection  is  more  explicitly  taught.  This 
criticism  overlooks  the  manner  in  which  the  Sadducees  opened 
the  conversation  :  "  Master,  Moses  said.  If  a  man  die,"  etc.  Our 
Lord  quoted  against  them  their  own  witness,  thus :  "  Now,  that 
the  dead  are  raised,  even  Moses  showed  at  the  bush,"  etc. 
(Luke).  He  showed  that  the  very  authority,  Moses,  from 
whom  the  difficulty  was  taken,  furnished  the  answer. 

The  history  of  the  doctrine  of  the  resurrection  follows  the 
analogy  of  the  o^her  revelations.  It  is  planted  in  the  germ 
in  the  earlier  scriptures ;  and  in  its  complete  disclosure,  it  obeys 
the  law  of  growth  and  progress.  We  have  seen  that  the 
redemption  of  the  body  is  among  the  promises  of  the  first 
gospel.  Proof  of  its  future  existence  was  afforded  by  the  trans- 
lation of  Enoch.     Abraham,  when  he  offered  up  Isaac,  believed 


MOSES  AND   THE  RESURRECTION.  433 

that  God  was  able  to  raise  liiin  from  the  dead.  Tlie  oracle  at 
the  bush  builds  the  salvation  of  the  body  upon  the  foundation 
of  an  everlasting  covenant.  The  sublime  song  of  Moses  takes 
from  Jehovah  the  declaration,  "I  kill,  and  I  make  alive,"  — 
words  in  which  Ilengstenberg  finds  the  same  blessed  hopes.^ 
If  it  be  said,  that  in  all  these  places  the  doctrine  is  taught  not 
by  way  of  assertion,  but  inferentially  only,  the  answer  may  well 
be  that  the  conclusion  is  unavoidable  ;  and  whatever  is  deduced 
from  scripture  by  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  is  of  equal  value  and 
authority  with  that  wliicli  is  expressly  set  down  in  his  written 
word.  In  Moses,  therefore,  we  find  the  beginning  of  an  argu- 
ment which  ends,  in  the  Gospels  and  Epistles,  in  a  demonstra- 
tion so  thorough,-  that,  in  the  words  of  Paul,  he  who  disputes 
it  falls  heir  to  the  epithet,  "  Thou  fool." 

Upon  the  question  whether  the  doctrine  of  the  resurrection 
is  to  be  found  in  the  books  of  Moses,  upon  which  some  Chris- 
tian scholars  express  doubts,  the  best  Jewish  authorities  have 
fixed  convictions.  Rabbi  Manasseh  Ben  Israel  says,  "The  faith 
of  the  resurrection  of  the  dead  is  one  of  the  chief  articles  of 
our  law,  and  whoever  says  it  cannot  be  proved  from  the  law 
is  a  heretic  aud  an  epicure,  and  shall  have  no  part  in  the  world 
to  come."^  The  Book  Menerath  says,  "Whoever  denies  the 
resurrection  of  the  dead,  or  one  of  all  the  wonders  written  in 
the  law,  denies  the  whole  law,  and  shall  have  no  part  in  the 
world  to  come."  ^  Mairaonides  says,  "  The  resurrection  of  the 
dead  is  the  foundation  of  the  foundations  of  Moses,  our  teacher, 
peace  be  to  him  !  and  he  who  believes  it  not  has  no  religion, 
nor  does  he  belong  to  the  Jewish  religion."  ^  Professor  Drum- 
mond  shows,  by  quotations  from  the  Mishna,  that  the  following 
persons  have  no  part  in  the  world  to  come  :  "  he  wlio  says 
there  is  no  resurrection  of  the  dead  according  to  the  law  "  (i.e., 
taught  in  the  Pentateuch),  "and  that  tlie  law  is  not  from 
heaven,  and  the  despiser  of  the  law ; "  "  Three  kings  and  four 
ordinary  persons  have  no  part  in  the  age  "  (the  world)  "  to 
come :    three    kings,  —  Jeroboam,  Ahab^  and    Manasseh  ;    four 

1  Contributions,  etc.,  iii.  570.  -  Nisliinalli,  fol.  ."!),  col.  2. 

8  Tal.,  6.  col.  1.  ^  Com.  on  Tract.  Sauhedrim,  fol.  20,  col.  1. 


434  S ACRED  HISTORY. 

ordinary  persons,  —  Balaam,  Doeg,  Ahithophel,  Gehazi.  The 
generation  of  the  Flood,  and  of  the  dispersion  "  (the  builders 
at  Babel),  "  and  the  men  of  Sodom,  are  excluded ;  the  spies, 
the  generation  of  the  wilderness,  also,  shall  not  stand  in  judg- 
ment ;  and  the  assembly  of  Korah  shall  not  come  forth  again."  ^ 
The  doctrine  of  the  rabbins  appears  to  be,  that  none  of  these 
wicked  men  shall  rise  from  the  dead ;  a  judgment  which  would 
be  feeble-minded  if  there  were  no  resurrection. 

1  Drummoud:  Jewish  Messiah,  383,  384. 


THE  DELIVERER  INAUGURATED.  435 


CHAPTER  XXX. 

THE  TEN  WONDERS. 

The  scene  of  the  sacred  action  is  now  transferred  to  tlie 
land  of  Egypt.  At  the  accession  of  Pharaoh  Menephtah,  the 
Hebrews  hoped  for  some  amelioration  of  their  sufferings,  but 
they  were  bitterly  disappointed :  "  They  sighed  by  reason  of 
the  bondage,  and  they  cried,  and  their  cry  came  up  unto  God." 
In  answer  to  the  cry,  Moses  came.  God  said  to  him  at  the 
bush,  "  Come  now,  I  will  send  there  unto  Pharaoh,  that  thou 
mayest  bring  forth  my  people  the  children  of  Israel  out  of 
Egypt."  God  directed  him  on  his  arrival  in  Egypt  to  gather 
the  ruling  elders  of  Israel,  and  announce  to  them  the  approach- 
ing deliverance.  That  being  done,  he  was  required  to  take 
with  him  a  delegation  of  the  elders,  and  to  say  to  Pharaoh, 
"The  Lord  God  of  the  Hebrews  hath  met  with  us;  and  now 
let  us  go,  we  beseech  thee,  three  days  journey  into  the  wilder- 
ness, that  we  may  sacrifice  to  the  Lord  our  God."  Moses  was 
told  that  the  king  would  obstinately  refuse  to  grant  the  re- 
quest ;  that  the  Almighty  would  smite  Egypt  with  all  his 
wonders ;  that  thereupon  the  king  would  let  them  go  ;  and 
they  should  leave  Egypt  laden  with  spoils.  Moses  returned 
to  Midian,  and  made  arrangements  for  the  journey.  Jehovah 
now  assured  him  that  he  might  safely  return  to  Egypt,  all  the 
men  being  dead  who  had  sought  his  life.  He  was  directed  to 
take  the  "  rod  of  God "  in  his  hand,  and  to  display  before 
Pharaoh  his  miraculous  gifts,  the  credentials  of  his  mission. 
He  was  told  to  forewarn  the  king  that  if  he  should  refuse  to 
let  the  people  go,  God  would  slay  his  first-born  son.  Moses 
was  allowed  to  see  the  end  from  the  beginning. 


436  SACRED  HISTOBY. 

ExOD.  iv.  24.  —  By  way  of  preparation  for  his  mission,  Moses 
was  tauglit  a  lesson  of  humility  and  obedience.  The  plight  in 
■  which  he  left  Midian  brought  his  exile  to  a  pitiable  close.  His 
wife  and  sons  rode  upon  an  ass,  while  he  trudged  along  on  foot, 
as  best  an  old  man  of  eighty  could,  supported  by  his  staff.  He 
came  to  Midian  a  fugitive,  he  departed  penniless.  Nor  were 
his  troubles  ended.  God  had  a  controversy  with  him.  He  had 
allowed  his  youngest  son  to  go  uncircumcised.  He  had,  per- 
haps, given  way  to  the  prejudices  of  Zipporah  against  the  sac- 
rament ;  but  God  could  not  pass  by  an  open  breach  of  his 
covenant  in  the  man  who  was  to  be  the  instrument  of  execut- 
ing the  provisions  of  that  covenant  in  Israel.  He  met  Moses 
at  a  resting-place  on  the  journey,  and  threatened  to  kill  him. 
Zipporah,  to  save  the  life  of  her  husband,  performed  the  cere- 
mony with  her  own  hand,  though  with  passionate  reproaches 
upon  Moses.  Soon  afterwards  she  returned  to  her  own  home, 
leaving  her  husband  to  pursue  his  journey  alone  (Exod.  xviii. 
5).  But  he  went  to  his  work  purged  from  known  sin.  His 
distress  was  soon  relieved  by  a  joyful  experience. 

Exod.  iv.  10-16,  27-29.  — At  the  bush  God  promised  to 
unite  his  brother  Aaron  with  him  in  the  commission  to 
Pharaoh ;  Moses  to  be  the  leading  spirit,  Aaron  to  be  the 
spokesman.  "  And  behold,"  said  God,  "  he  cometh  forth  to 
meet  thee."  When  Moses  set  out  from  Midian  to  go  to  Egypt, 
the  Lord  said  to  Aaron,  "Go  into  the  wilderness  to  meet 
Moses."  The  brothers  met  at  Horeb.  "We  are  left  to  imagine 
what  passed  between  them,  descriptive  of  the  life  of  one  in 
Egypt  and  the  other  in  Midian  through  the  forty  years  of  their 
separation,  and  with  what  confidence  or  misgivings  they  looked 
forward  to  the  work  set  before  them.  We  are  told  simply  that 
they  received  each  other  with  kisses,  and  that  Moses  repeated 
to  Aaron  all  the  words  that  God  had  spoken  to  him,  and 
described  the  miraculous  signs  which  were  in  his  hand. 

Exod.  iv.  29.  —  All  went  well  with  the  brothers  in  their  first 
interview  with  the  Israelites.  Aaron,  being  the  chief  speaker, 
repeated  to  them  the  communications  which  God  had  made  to 
Moses,  and  wrought  the  supernatural  wonders  in  their  presence 


niMEDIATE  EMANCIPATION.  437 

which  Moses  had  done  in  Midian.  The  miracle  of  the  rod 
turned  to  a  serpent  was  a  sign  to  the  people  that  Jehovah,  the 
God  of  their  fathers,  had  appeared  to  Moses,  and  had  sent  him 
to  Egypt;  and  a  sign,  also,  that  the  dangers  to  which  his 
mission  would  expose  them  should  be  removed.  The  hand 
miraculously  covered  with  leprosy  represented  the  moral  defile- 
ment which  the  chosen  seed  had  contracted  in  the  bosom  of 
Egypt ;  the  hand  miraculously  cleansed  represented  the  spirit- 
ual purification  which  should  follow  their  release  from  the 
house  of  bondage.  When  the  people  heard  Aaron,  and  saw 
the  signs,  they  believed  that  Jehovah  had  visited  them,  and 
had  looked  on  their  afflictions;  and  they  bowed  their  heads 
and  worshipped.  These  interviews  went  far  towards  the  prepa- 
ration of  Moses  and  Aaron  for  their  arduous  labors,  although 
they  may  not  have  anticipated  the  obstacles  which  they  were 
to  encounter. 

ExoD.  v.,  vi.  —  The  liberation  of  the  bondsmen  was  to  be 
not  gradual  but  immediate,  not  temporary  but  final ,  it  was  to 
redeem,  not  a  favored  few,  but  Israel  as  a  whole.  To  this 
extent,  the  emancipation  of  the  slaves  in  the  United  States, 
and  of  the  serfs  in  Russia,  resembles  that  of  the  Hebrews. 
But  never  before  and  never  since  the  exodus  of  the  Hebrews, 
have  two  millions  of  bondsmen  suddenly  quitted  their  native 
country  in  one  body-,  never  has  the  dominant  race  passionately 
urged  them  to  depart ;  never  have  the  fugitives  gone  away 
laden  with  spoils  taken  from  their  masters.  This  wonderful 
social  revolution  was  effected  in  spite  of  many  apparently 
insurmountable  obstacles. 

First,  a  people  like  the  Egyptians  could  not  be  expected  to 
submit,  without  a  struggle,  to  the  loss  of  six  hundred  thousand 
able-bodied  slaves.  The  more  robust  were  employed  in  the 
fields,  canals,  and  brick-kilns.  The  tabernacle  built  by  the 
Hebrews  in  the  wilderness  shows  that  among  them  were  skilled 
workmen  in  woods  and  metals,  in  spinning  and  weaving,  in 
embroidery  and  jewellery,  and  other  useful  and  ornamental  arts. 
The  dominant  race  would  naturally  resist  the  attempt  to  de- 
prive them  of  this  immense  productive  industry,  even  if  the 


438  SACRED  HISTORY. 

Egyptians  had  been  able  to  rise  above  the  pride  of  authority 
and  irrational  obstinacy  often  exhibited  by  the  masters  of  a 
slave  population. 

Account  must  be  taken,  secondly,  of  the  servility  engendered 
among  the  Hebrews  by  their  long  servitude.  Forty  years 
before,  instead  of  standing  by  Moses  when  he  struck  a  blow 
for  liberty,  some  of  them  betrayed  his  secret,  and  compelled 
him  to  flee  for  his  life.  Nor  had  the  oppressions  of  forty  years 
more  roused  them  to  resistance.  Moses  and  Aaron  required 
the  king,  in  the  name  of  God,  to  allow  the  Israelites  to  hold 
a  sacrificial  service  in  the  wilderness.  Pharaoh  replied,  "  Who 
is  the  Lord,  that  I  should  obey  his  voice  and  let  Israel  go  ? " 
He  gave  orders  that  the  laborers  should  gather  straw  for 
themselves,  and  make  the  daily  tale  of  bricks.  By  way  of 
enforcing  the  new  rule,  he  ordered  the  bastinado  to  be  applied 
to  the  Hebrew  overseers.  The  wretched  serfs,  instead  of  re- 
senting the  outrage,  charged  Moses  and  Aaron  with  having 
put  a  sword  into  the  hands  of  the  op]3ressors  to  slay  them. 
For  the  purpose  of  re-assuring  them,  God  immediately  revealed 
himself  by  the  name  of  Jehovah  ;  a  name  the  significance  of 
which  they  had  never  understood.  They  were  familiar  with 
the  pronunciation  of  the  word ;  but  they  had  not  yet  appre- 
hended its  breadth  and  grandeur  as  a  description  of  the  cove- 
nant God,  the  self-existent,  eternal,  and  unchangeable  Redeemer 
of  Israel  (Exod.  vi.  3).  Jehovah  announced,  also,  that  he  held 
himself  bound  by  his  covenant  engagements  to  transfer  his 
chosen  seed  from  Egypt  to  the  heritage  which  he  had  sworn  to 
bestow  upon  them.  And  yet,  so  thoroughly  was  the  courage 
of  the  people  broken,  that  "they  hearkened  not  unto  Moses 
for  anguish  of  spirit  and  cruel  bondage."  The  reader  looks  in 
vain  through  the  history  of  the  period  for  a  single  instance  in 
which  they  rallied  to  the  call  of  Moses.  From  first  to  last  they 
were  "  faint  and  spiritless,  dull  and  dead  of  look." 

The  enterprise  was  embarrassed,  thirdly,  by  the  misgivings 
of  Moses  himself,  arising  not  from  any  personal  fear  of 
Pharaoh,  but  from  the  probable  effect  of  cruelty  on  the  timid 
bondsmen.      When   he   saw   that    Pharaoh    had,   on    his   first 


STUBBORN  OBSTACLES.  439 

demand,  defied  Jehovah,  and  redoubled  the  anguish  of  the 
Israelites,  he  said  unto  the  Lord,  "  Wherefore  hast  thou  so  evil 
entreated  the  peoj^le  ?  Why  is  it  that  thou  hast  sent  me  ? 
For  since  I  came  to  Pharaoh  to  speak  in  thy  name,  he  hath 
done  evil  to  this  people  ;  neither  hast  thou  delivered  thy  people 
at  all."  Even  after  God  had  revealed  his  new  name,  and 
reiterated  the  promises  of  his  covenant  in  regard  to  the  deliv- 
erance of  Israel,  Moses  hesitated  to  go  in  again  to  Pharaoh. 
"  Behold,  the  children  of  Israel  have  not  hearkened  unto  me ; 
how  then  shall  Pharaoh  hear  me,  who  am  of  uncircumcised 
lips  ?  "  (heavy,  slow-speaking  lips.) 

Fourthly,  the  idolatry  of  the  people  hung  like  a  dead  M'eight 
upon  the  scheme  of  emancipation.  The  hand  of  Moses  defiled 
by  leprosy  was  a  fair  representation  of  their  spiritual  condition. 
They  worshipped  the  gods  of  Egypt,  stooping  even  to  the 
worship  of  devils  (Lev.  xvii.  7 ;  Josh.  xxiv.  14).  From  the  day 
when  they  set  up  the  golden  calf  at  Sinai,  to  the  Babylonish 
captivity,  —  a  period  of  a  thousand  years,  —  idolatry  was  the 
inveterate  crime  of  Israel.  It  Avas  therefore  a  first  necessity  of 
their  condition,  that  the  bondsmen  should  be  brought  to  per- 
ceive that  the  gods  of  Egypt  were  a  lie,  and  that  the  supremacy 
of  one  God,  only  one,  the  very  God  of  the  patriarchs,  the 
Almighty,  the  El  Shaddai,  the  I  A^I,  should  be  ])rought  home 
to  the  public  conscience.  Until  this  could  be  done,  the  peo- 
ple would  not  respond  to  the  plans  of  Providence  for  their 
liberation. 

Fifthly,  of  all  these  obstacles,  the  hardest  to  deal  with  was 
the  stubbornness  of  Pharaoh.  His  refractory  temper  was  dis- 
tinctly considered  by  the  Almighty,  and  gave  shape  to  his 
counsels.  He  said  to  Moses  at  the  bush,  "  I  am  sure  the  king 
of  Egypt  will  not  let  you  go."  Not  only  that,  but  God  had 
resolved  to  exasperate  his  stubbornness.  "I  will  harden  his 
heart,  that  he  shall  not  let  the  people  go."  The  issue  between 
Jehovah  and  the  Pharaohs  was  squarely  made  up.  God  com- 
manded the  king  to  let  the  Hebrews  depart ;  the  king  refused 
to  obey.  The  command  was  unaml)iguous,  peremptor}^  reiter- 
ated;  the    refusal  was   direct,  positive,  contemptuous.     Next, 


440  SACEEB  HISTORY. 

the  Almighty  had  resolved  to  compel  obedience  by  the  use  of 
supernatural  terrors.  He  would  not  attempt  to  persuade  the 
king,  or  to  appeal  to  his  reason  or  conscience ;  nor  would  he 
instigate  the  people  to  fly  to  arms,  and  rise  upon  their  oppres- 
sors. Moses  had  tried  that  experiment  forty  years  before,  and 
it  had  come  to  nothing.  God  said,  "I  will  stretch  out  my 
hand,  and  smite  Egypt  with  all  my  wonders,  and  after  that 
he  will  let  you  go."  "  I  will  redeem  you  with  a  stretched-out 
arm,  and  with  great  judgments."  God  himself  would  be  their 
deliverer. 

ExoD.  V.  1-19.  —  The  impending  judgments  were  introduced 
by  two  preliminary  demands.  By  the  first,  a  test  was  applied 
to  the  temper  of  the  tyrant.  Moses  and  Aaron  told  him, 
"  Thus  saith  the  Lord  God  of  Israel,  Let  my  people  go,  that 
they  may  hold  a  feast  unto  me  in  the  wilderness."  Pharaoh's 
insolent  reply  was,  "  Who  is  Jehovah,  that  I  should  obey  his 
voice  to  let  Israel  go?  I  know  not  Jehovah,  neither  will  I  let 
Israel  go."  Moses  endeavored  to  gain  his  consent  by  limiting 
the  absence  to  three  days,  and  by  declaring  that  its  only  pur- 
pose was  to  offer  sacrifices  to  Jehovah.  It  was  a  reasonable 
request.  The  Hebrews  might  not  offer  in  Egypt  a  sacrifice  to 
the  God  of  Israel ;  neither  could  they  safely,  in  the  presence 
of  the  Egyptians,  slay  for  the  altar  and  the  sacrificial  feast  the 
animals  which  were  set  apart  as  objects  of  worship  by  the  law 
and  usage  of  the  land.  The  king  uttered  the  insulting  taunt, 
"  Ye  are  idle,  ye  are  idle :  therefore  ye  say,  Let  us  go  and  do 
sacrifice  to  Jehovah."  He  remanded  the  people  to  the  double 
toil  of  making  the  brick,  and  finding  the  straw  as  best  they 
could.  The  tyrant's  refusal  to  remit  a  few  days'  labor  made 
it  certain  that  he  would  resist  to  the  last  the  departure,  never 
to  return,  of  the  laborers.  By  both  word  and  deed  he  betrayed 
also  his  open  contempt  for  Jehovah,  and  made  it  necessary  for 
the  Almighty  to  assert  his  adorable  majesty. 

ExoD.  vii.  1-13.  —  The  second  preliminary  measure  estab- 
lished the  Divine  commissions  of  the  messengers  of  Jehovah. 
Pharaoh  demanded  a  supernatural  proof  or  sign  of  the  power 
of  their  God.     Aaron  threw  down  the  rod  of  Moses,  and  it 


TH-E  ERA    OF  MIRACLES   OPENS.  441 

became  a  serpent.  Pharaoh  sent  for  his  magicians,  who  were 
adepts  in  the  art  of  serpent-charming.  They  appeared,  and 
threw  down  their  rods.  These  also  became  serpents,  but 
Aaron's  rod  swallowed  up  their  rods.  Pharaoh  would  not 
acknowledge  the  defeat  of  his  sorcerers.  God  hardened  his 
heart,  so  that  he  would  not  hearken  to  the  Divine  command. 
The  way  was  now  prepared  for  the  judgments  upon  Egypt. 
The  miracle  of  warning  was  like  the  word  going  before  the 
blow,  the  blank  cartridge  discharged  in  the  presence  of  the  mob 
before  the  fatal  order  to  fire  is  given. 

A  general  view  of  the  wonders  which  followed  will  disclose 
their  nature.  The  number  of  the  wonders  was  ten.  This  is 
one  of  the  perfect  numbers,  so  called,_  of  Scripture,  a  symbol 
of  completeness.  The  decimal  system  of  numbers  j)revails 
almost  universally  among  the  nations.  Indeed,  it  owes  its 
origin  to  the  structure  of  the  human  hand,  as  the  very  term 
"  digits  "  indicates.  The  number  of  the  plagues,  like  the  equiv- 
alent number  of  the  Divine  commandments,  was  the  signature 
of  a  work  fully  done. 

They  were,  without  exception,  miraculous.  The  word  "  mirac- 
ulous "  is  here  used  to  describe  not  only  a  supernatural  event, 
but  a  wonder  wrought  by  God  through  the  instrumentality  of 
man  (Acts  ii.  22).  In  this  sense  of  the  word,  no  miracle  was 
done  from  the  creation  to  the  age  of  Moses,  a  period  of  twenty- 
five  hundred  years.  Enoch  had  tliis  testimony,  that  he  pleased 
God,  but  he  wrought  no  miracle ;  nor  did  Noah,  who  walked 
with  God ;  nor  did  Abraham,  who  was  the  father  of  the  faithful. 
The  translation  of  the  first  of  these  patriarchs,  the  Deluge  in 
the  days  of  the  second,  and  the  destruction  of  Sodom  in  the 
presence  of  the  third,  were  supernatural ;  yet  they  were  brought 
about  directly  by  God  himself.  Through  all  these  early  ages 
the  Almighty  revealed  his  being  and  his  will  by  visions,  from 
which  the  period  derives  the  name  of  the  theophanic  era.  The 
age  of  miracles,  as  distinguished  from  theophanies,  began  with 
Moses.  At  Horeb  God  clotlied  liim  witli  a  commission  to 
deliver  the  cluirch  from  bondage,  and  endowed  liim  with  super- 
natural gifts  as  the  credentials   of  his   Divine  vocation.     On 


442  SACRED  HISTORY. 

his  arrival  in  Egypt  lie  exhibited  the  signs  in  the  presence  of 
Pharaoh  and  the  people.  Afterwards  the  plagues  took  the 
form  of  miracles,  or  wonders  wrought  by  God,  in  immediate 
connection  with  certain  things  done  and  said  by  Moses  and 
Aaron.  God  forewarned  these  messengers  of  the  judgments 
which  he  intended  to  send  upon  Egypt,  and  he  told  them  what 
they  must  do  by  way  of  showing  that  the  judgments  w^ere 
forthcoming. 

The  sicfus  were  varied.  A  Jewish  writer  observes  that  the 
wonders  of  the  blood,  frogs,  and  gnats,  were  introduced  by 
Aaron;  three  others,  hail,  locusts,  and  darkness,  by  Moses; 
three  others,  the  beetles,  the  pestilence,  and  the  death  of  the 
first-born,  by  God  himself,  without  the  medium  of  Moses  or 
Aaron.i  So,  also,  in  six  of  the  plagues,  the  rod  was  used  by 
Moses  or  Aaron.  In  one,  Moses  stretched  forth  his  hands ;  in 
others,  he  simply  warned  Pharaoh  of  the  impending  calamity. 
Nine  of  them  were  directly  or  indirectly  associated,  both  in 
their  infliction  and  removal,  with  the  actions  of  the  two 
brothers,  showing  that  they  were  the  tri,ie  ministers  of  God ; 
yet  these  actions  showed  that  there  was  no  inherent  power  in 
Moses  or  Aaron.  The  tenth,  the  destruction  of  the  first-born, 
was  purely  supernatural.  Here,  then,  was  the  beginning  of 
miracles  in  the  history  of  redemption.  Moreover,  each  plague 
differed  from  all  the  others.  Their  variety  was  adapted  to 
convince  the  parties  concerned  that  God,  who  never  rej^eats 
himself,  and  never  exhausts  his  resources  of  mercy  or  judg- 
ment, had  stretched  out  his  own  arm  over  the  land.  Some 
might  be  convinced  by  one  of  the  ten  signs,  and  some  by 
another.  The  proof  from  the  whole  was  cumulative  and  over- 
whelming. 

They  fell  upon  the  land  in  swift  succession.  It  appears  from 
Exod.  vii.  25,  that  seven  days  elapsed  between  the  first  and  the 
second.  The  last  four  occurred  within  a  single  month;  for 
when  the  hail  fell,  which  was  the  seventh  wonder,  "the  barley 
was  in  the  ear,  and  the  flax  was  boiled,"  a  state  of  vegetation 
which  in  Egypt  appears  early  in  March  (Exod.  ix.  31)  ;  but 
1  Kalisch  on  Exodus,  p.  89. 


PLAGUES,   EAPID  AND  PBOGBESSIVE.  443 

the  tenth  plague  came  in  the  middle  of  the  month  Abib,  or 
about  the  first  of  April,  giving  an  interval  of  nearly  four  weeks 
between  the  seventh,  which  occurred  early  in  March,  and  the 
tenth,  which  came  early  in  April  (Exod.  xiii.  4).  Assuming 
a  wreck's  interval  as  the  rule  for  the  entire  series,  the  con- 
clusion is  that  they  began  about  the  first  of  February,  and 
closed  about  the  first  of  April,  the  whole  occupj'ing,  let  us  say, 
sixty  days.  The  rapidity  with  which  the  plagues  ran  their 
career  was  one  of  their  most  frightful  concomitants. 

The  judgments  were  both  cumulative  and  progressively 
severe.  In  the  first,  the  sweet  water  of  the  Nile,  turned  into 
blood,  mocked  their  thirst ;  in  the  second,  myriads  of  loathsome 
frogs  covered  the  land,  and  when  the}^  died  the  carrion  poisoned 
the  air ;  in  the  third  and  fourth,  lice  like  dust  and  swarms  of 
flies  tormented  the  people ;  in  the  fifth,  their  cattle  perished 
by  the  murrain ;  in  the  sixth,  filthy  boils  on  man  and  beast  de- 
graded the  man  to  a  fellowship  of  suffering  with  the  beast ;  in 
the  seventh,  hail  fell  from  heaven,  and  lightning  ran  along  the 
ground,  killing  man  and  beast  and  herb  and  tree ;  in  the  eighth, 
countless  myriads  of  locusts  devoured  the  residue  in  the  fields 
that  had  escaped  the  hail-storm,  and  then  pressed  their  way 
into  every  open  door  and  window ;  in  the  ninth',  an  awful 
darkness  fell  upon  the  desolated  land;  and  in  the  tenth,  at 
midnight,  a  frantic  vv^ail  over  the  dying  first-born  of  the 
Egyptians  smote  the  air.  The  blows  fell  thick  and  fast  and 
furious. 

Three  of  the  plagues  fell  upon  the  Hebrews  as  well  as  upon 
their  oppressors;  showing  that,  because  the  people  of  God  par- 
took in  the  idolatry  of  the  Egyptians,  they  must  also  partake, 
to  a  certain  degree,  in  the  sufferings  of  the  heathen.  Thencefor- 
ward the  Israelites  were  severed  from  the  Egyptians,  and  suffered 
no  more.  During  the  prevalence  of  the  murrain  the  king  as- 
certained, through  messengers  sent  by  him  to  Goshen,  that  not 
one  of  the  cattle  of  the  Israelites  had  died.  Hail  fell  in  Egypt, 
but  in  the  land  of  Goshen  there  was  no  hail.  In  tlie  time  of 
darkness,  "all  the  children  of  Israel  had  light  in  their  dwell- 
ings" (Exod.  ix.  7-26,  x.  23).     Their  exemption  fi-om  seven 


444  SACEED  HISTORY. 

of  the  plagues  indicated  that  they  were  the  chosen  seed.  Wliile 
God  chastised  them  for  their  sins,  he  would  not  destroy  them 
with  the  heathen. 

The  primary  design  of  the  judgments  was  to  break  the  bond- 
age of  the  promised  seed,  for  the  purpose  of  removing  them 
from  Egypt  to  the  promised  land ;  but  they  yielded  other 
results  hardly  less  important.  The  wonders  could  hardly  fail 
to  inspire  the  bondsmen  with  faith  in  the  promise  and  power  of 
God  to  break  their  chains.  Next,  the  mighty  works  wrought 
by  the  two  brothers  accredited  them  to  the  Hebrews  as  the 
ministers  of  God,  bearing  a  Divine  commission  to  lead  them 
from  Egypt  to  Canaan.  Nor  were  these  miracles  less  service- 
able to  Moses  and  Aaron.  God  had  assured  Moses  at  Horeb, 
"  Certainly  I  will  be  with  thee."  The  fulfilment  of  the  j^rom- 
ises  strengthened  the  two  brothers  in  all  their  gifts,  both 
natural  and  supernatural,  and  in  the  confidence  of  the  people,  — 
advantages  which  they  would  need  in  the  wilderness.  Many 
of  the  Egyptians,  even,  were  brought  to  a  better  mind,  by  what 
they  suffered  under  the  hand  of  Gocl.  On  one  occasion  at 
least,  the  officers  of  state  remonstrated  with  the  king  in  his 
futile  resistance  to  the  Divine  power ;  and  a  mixed  multitude 
of  the  natives  cast  in  their  lot  at  the  exodus  with  the  Hebrews, 
in  their  journey  towards  Canaan. 

Still  further,  by  those  wonderful  works,  Jehovah  asserted  his 
supreme  dominion  over  all  the  provinces  and  orders  of  nature 
in  Egypt.  Pharaoh's  challenge,  "  Who  is  Jehovah  ?  I  know 
him  not,"  expressed  the  theology  of  the  Egyptians.  Their 
thought  was,  that  the  God  of  the  Hebrews  was  no  more  to 
them,  and  no  other,  than  Bel  the  national  god  of  Babylon,  or 
Moloch  the  tutelary  deity  of  Ammon ;  Bel,  Moloch,  and  Jeho- 
vah were  all  alike,  so  they  imagined,  strange  gods,  and  power- 
less on  the  Nile.  Jehovah  forewarned  the  king  that  he  was 
about  to  assert  his  authority  as  the  supreme  God,  ruling  over 
Egypt  with  free  and  complete  omnipotence.  All  the  elements 
of  nature  in  Egypt  were  converted  into  so  many  scourges. 
The  waters  turned  to  blood,  frogs  out  of  the  Nile,  lice  swarm- 
ing in  the  dust,  swarms  of  stinging  insects,  carbuncles,  hail, 


EMPHATICALLY  SUPERNATUBAL.  445 

fire,  locusts,  darkness  coming  in  the  air  or  from  the  sky,  deatli 
falling  on  man  and  beast,  came  in  quick  succession.  The  blows 
fell  rapidly  upon  the  property  of  the  people,  on  their  growing 
crops,  on  their  cattle,  upon  their  persons  in  vermin  and  boils, 
and  finally  upon  all  the  first-born  in  the  land  of  Egypt,  from 
the  first-born  of  Pharaoh  that  sat  on  his  throne,  to  the  first- 
born of  the  captive  in  the  dungeon  (Exod.  xii.  29).  These 
lessons  were  emphasized  in  the  exemption  of  the  Israelites  from 
seven  of  the  ten  plagues.  The  oppressors  were  taught  that  the 
Being  who  infhcted  upon  them  penal  sufferings  was  not  an 
Egyptian  deity,  but  was  Israel's  God ;  that  Jehovah  was 
supreme  over  all  Egypt,  over  that  which  he  scourged,  and  that 
which  he  spared  ;  that  his  supremacy  was  exclusive  and  abso- 
lute ;  and  that  there  was  no  god  in  all  the  earth  like  the  God 
of  the  Hebrews. 

These  lessons  were  enforced,  still  further,  by  the  nature  of 
the  wonders.  They  were  not  miracles  of  power  chosen,  per- 
haps, at  random,  but  were,  with  two  excerptions,  aggravated 
forms  of  calamities  indigenous  to  the  banks  of  the  Nile.  The 
exceptions  are  the  turning  of  the  waters  into  blood,  and  the 
death  of  the  first-born.  The  eight  other  plagues,  as  to  the  mat- 
ter of  them,  were  evils  natural  to  Egypt.  The  presence  of  the 
supernatural  in  the  forms  given  to  them  is  immediately  appar- 
ent. It  is  true  that  the  Nile  assumes  a  reddish  color  at  the 
period  of  its  overflow ;  but  the  overflow  occurs  in  July,  where- 
as the  plague  of  blood  took  place  in  February.  At  the  word 
of  Moses,  the  liver  became  l)lood ;  it  stank,  the  fish  died,  the 
people  loathed  the  taste  of  its  waters.  At  the  word  of  ]\Ioses, 
also,  the  blood  was  turned  to  w^ater.  It  is  impossible  to  elimi- 
nate the  quality  of  the  supernatural  from  this  judgment,  or 
from  those  that  followed.  Their  intensity  cannot  be  otherwise 
explained.  Vermin  of  all  kinds  were  multiplied  by  myriads, 
and  diseases  had  never  before  been  so  malignant.  The  plagues 
occurred  in  quick  succession,  falling  within  the  period  of  about 
two  months ;  they  appeared  and  disappeared  promptly  at  the  time 
predicted  by  Moses  ;  many  of  them  came  and  went  in  obedience 
to  the  motions  of  his  hands  or  his  rod,  or  at  the  word  of  his 


446  SACRED  HISTORY. 

mouth.  The  union  of  the  natural  and  the  supernatural  in  the 
visitations  served  a  purpose  which  could  not  have  been  other- 
wise gained.  It  demonstrated  the  sovereign  dominion  of  Jeho- 
vah over  all  the  land  of  Egypt ;  a  truth  which  was  derided  by 
the  scoffing  king  and  dissembling  priesthood. 

Again,  Jehovah  declared  open  war  against  the  gods  of  Egypt. 
In  contemplation  of  the  tenth  plague  he  said,  "  I  will  pass 
through  the  land  of  Egypt  this  niglit,  and  will  smite  all  the 
first-born  in  the  land  of  Egypt,  both  man  and  beast ;  and 
against  all  the  gods  of  Egypt  I  will  execute  judgment;  I  am 
Jehovah "  (Exod.  xii.  12 ;  Num.  xxxiii.  4).  In  smiting  the 
beasts  he  struck  down  the  objects  of  Egyptian  worship.  The 
sacred  bullocks,  Mnevis  and  Apis,  sons  of  the  creative  Nile, 
were  installed  as  deities  in  many  a  temple.  In  all  the  great 
cities,  divine  honors  were  paid  to  four-footed  animals,  as  the 
incarnations  or  proxies  of  the  Egyptian  gods.  The  bull  was 
worshipped  in  Memphis,  Heliopolis,  and  Hermopolis ;  the  goat 
in  Mendes;  the  ram  in  Thebes;  in  other  cities,  the  cow  and 
the  cat.  Their  sacred  carcasses  were  smitten  with  the  rinder- 
pest in  the  fifth  plague  ;  and  in  the  tenth,  by  the  destruction 
of  the  first-born  of  the  deified  beasts,  the  anger  of  Jehovah 
once  more  smote  the  gods  of  Egypt.  The  River  Nile,  also,  was 
worshipped  under  the  name  of  Osiris,  as  the  bountiful  deity  of 
Egypt.  A  temple  was  devoted  to  the  Nile-god,  and  a  distinct 
order  of  priests  was  consecrated  to  his  service.  No  expression 
of  the  Divine  contempt  could  exceed  the  act  of  God  turning 
the  waters  of  the  river  into  blood  until  they  stank,  and  gave 
forth  myriads  of  disgusting  reptiles,  which  forced  their  way 
into  the  houses,  and  even  into  the  kneading-troughs  of  the 
people.  The  exuberant  soil  of  Egypt  was  supplied  with  its 
deities,  but  the  dust  arose  from  its  surface  in  clouds  of  lice. 
The  translucent  atmosphere  and  brilliant  sky  were  the  glory 
of  Egypt ;  yet  the  atmosphere  was  filled  with  winged  insects, 
tormenting  man  and  beast  and  magician.  In  spite  of  the  gods 
and  goddesses  who  inhabited  and  guarded  the  skies,  ulcers  fell 
out  of  them  on  the  people  ;  a  storm  of  hail  mingled  with  fire 
followed  the  ulcers ;  a  cloud  of  locusts  overspread  the  land;  and 


SORCERY  EXPOSED  AND  DEFEATED.  447 

after  the  locusts,  a  darkness  that  miglit  be  felt  hid  the  face  of 
the  great  Sun-god  through  three  days.  So  thoroughly  defeated 
and  defiled  were  all  the  gods  of  Egypt,  that  Pharaoh  himself, 
a  boasted  demigod,  sought  refuge  more  than  once  in  the  mercy 
of  Jehovah  (Exod.  ix.  27,  28,  x.  16,  17). 

Another  leading  design  of  the  plagues  was  to  expose  the 
system  of  Egyptian  magic.  That  system  entered  as  an  integral 
element  into  the  false  religion  of  the  country,  and  its  adepts 
belonged  to  the  sacerdotal  order.  The  purjDOse  of  Jehovah 
to  execute  judgment  on  all  the  superstitions  of  Egypt  brought 
the  miracles  of  Moses  and  Aaron  face  to  face  with  the  enchant- 
ments of  the  magicians.  Accordingly,  the  first  three  signs 
wrought  by  the  servants  of  God  —  the  rod  changed  to  a 
serpent,  the  water  turned  into  blood,  and  the  production  of 
frogs — were  imitated  by  Jannes  and  Jambres;  for  such,  prob- 
ably, were  the  names  of  the  chiefs  among  the  magicians 
(2  Tim.  iii.  8). 

Several  prominent  features  appear  in  this  notable  conflict. 
It  took  place,  for  example,  in  the  sphere  of  the  sorcery  that 
was  specifically  Egyptian.  The  ten  plagues,  as  we  have  seen, 
were  for  the  most  part  aggravations  of  evils  native-born  to 
Egypt ;  the  supernatural  resting  on  the  basis  of  the  natural 
not  only,  but  on  what  was  pecular  to  the  land  of  the  Nile,  —  its 
soil  and  climate,  its  sky,  air,  and  water,  its  boasted  advantages, 
and  its  acknowledged  limitations.  By  way  of  preserving  all 
the  unities,  the  sorcery  which  was  generically  Egyptian  was 
delivered  over  to  power  Divine.  Next,  the  wonders  wrought 
by  Moses  and  Aaron  were  incomparably  superior  in  variety, 
number,  and  sufficiency,  to  the  counter  wonders  of  the  magi- 
cians. The  rod  of  Aaron  turned  to  a  serpent  swallowed  the 
rods  of  the  impostors ;  he  changed  the  Nile  and  all  the  waters 
of  Egypt  into  blood,  the  magicians  did  so  upon  a  little  water ; 
he  produced  myriads  of  frogs,  they  a  few  only.  He  removed  all 
the  plagues:  they  removed  none,  not  even  those  which  they 
imitated ;  they  could  do  no  more  than  increase  in  a  small  way 
tlie  volume  of  blood  and  the  number  of  frogs.  Aaron  used  the 
simple  word  and  the  staff:  the  magicians  used  their  secret  en- 


448  SACRED  HISTORY. 

chantments.  His  word  was  invariably  followed  by  the  appear- 
ance of  the  plague :  at  the  tliird  plague  they  failed  ignominiously 
with  their  enchantments,  and  confessed,  "  This  is  the  finger  of 
God."'  The  impostors  themselves  became  the  victims  of  the 
subsequent  visitations,  for  "  the  boil  was  upon  the  magicians  " 
(Exod.  ix.  11),  and  doubtless  their  fields  were  ravaged  by  the 
hail  and  the  fire  and  the  locusts,  their  houses  were  filled  with 
the  thick  darkness,  and  their  children  perished  in  the  destruc- 
tion of  the  first-born.  Nothing  could  be  more  complete  than 
the  defeat  which  was  suffered  by  the  arts  of  magic,  except  the 
judgments  which  were  executed  on  the  gods  of  Egypt. 

Various  explanations  of  these  counter  wonders  have  been 
proposed.  It  has  been  suggested  that  both  the  ministers  of 
Jehovah  and  the  sorcerers  were  "  wise  men  "  in  science  and  art 
beyond  their  age,  working  by  some  laws  of  nature  at  that  time 
known  only  to  themselves.  Thus  the  chemist,  setting  phos- 
phorus on  fire  under  water,  might  appear  to  the  ignorant  to 
work  a  miracle.  This  suggestion  is  liable  to  two  exceptions. 
The  first,  which  will  be  fatal  in  the  opinion  of  the  Christian 
scholar,  is  that  the  proposed  solution  leads  up  to  the  conclusion 
that  the  wonders  wrought  by  Moses  were  not  necessarily  super- 
natural, but  were  within  the  competency  of  an  accomplished 
manipulator ;  and  that  Moses,  who  was  learned  in  all  the  wis- 
dom of  the  Egyptians,  may  have  been  after  all  only  a  more 
clever  artist  than  either  Jannes  or  Jambres.  The  second 
exception  will  at  least  give  pause  to  the  rationalist.  The  prog- 
ress of  science,  through  the  twenty-five  hundred  years  which 
have  elapsed  since  the  days  of  Moses,  has  not  enabled  any  exjDcrt 
to  change  a  dry  stick  into  a  serpent  and  back  into  a  stick,  or  to 
turn  all  the  waters  of  Egypt  into  blood,  or  to  convert  ashes 
into  swarms  of  lice,  or  to  reproduce  any  one  of  the  eight  other 
plagues  of  Egypt,  and  to  remove  them,  at  his  will.  Nor  can 
these  phe  nomena  be  classed  with  the  Greek  fire,  or  with  the 
art  of  embalming,  or  with  any  of  the  lost  arts. 

Another  solution  is  obtained  by  supposing  that  God  was 
pleased  to  bestow  miraculous  powers  on  the  magicians  to  the 
limited  extent  indicated  in  the   record;   the   Divine   purpose 


ORIENTAL  JUGGLERY.  449 

herein  being  to  try  the  faith  of  his  people,  to  afford  to  Pharaoh 
a  temporary  triumph  to  be  followed  by  a  signal  defeat  in  the 
withdrawal  of  his  assistance.  But  this  theory  does  not  account 
for  the  existence  of  the  system  of  Egyptian  magic,  of  which 
these  few  artifices  were  the  products.  It  presents,  also,  the 
Almighty  in  the  attitude  of  setting  miracle  against  miracle ; 
supporting  with  Divine  credentials  a  system  of  fraud  and  im- 
posture ;  using  his  infinite  power  at  one  and  the  same  moment 
to  verify  and  to  expose  a  lie  ;  bearing  witness  for  the  time  being 
to  the  emissaries  of  Satan,  with  signs  and  wonders  and  with 
divers  miracles.  No  analogy  in  support  of  this  explanation  can 
be  drawn  from  the  gift  of  prophecy  in  Balaam,  and  of  miracles 
in  Judas  Iscariot.  These  men  were  not  allowed,  in  any  one 
instance,  to  use  their  Divine  endowments  to  the  prejudice  of 
the  truth.  Balaam  could  do  nothing  but  bless  Israel,  and 
Judas  wrought  no  miracles  on  the  side  of  Christ's  enemies. 

The  opinion  best  supported  by  the  Scriptures,  and  most 
commonly  received,  is  that  the  magicians  were  adepts  in  leger- 
demain, and  their  enchantments  were  simply  due  to  their  clever- 
ness in  their  profession.  This  opinion  rests  on  the  well-known 
skill  of  the  Orientals  in  jugglery ;  on  the  circumstance  that 
Aaron,  in  the  miracles  of  the  blood  and  the  frogs,  had  supplied 
them  with  abundant  materials  for  imposture  ;  and  especially  on 
the  singular  gift  of  serpent-charming  to  this  day  even  emploj^ed 
in  Egypt.  The  jugglers  are  able,  as  is  said,  to  throw  a  particu- 
lar species  of  reptile  into  a  torpor,  by  spitting  into  its  throat, 
and  closing  its  mouth,  so  that  it  lies  stiff  and  motionless  on  the 
ground.  In  order  to  revive  it  again,  they  seize  it  by  the  tail, 
and  rub  it  vigorously  between  the  hands.  Hengstenberg  de- 
scribes the  trick,  and  relies  upon  it  as  an  explanation  of  the 
matter  in  hand.^  Dr.  W.  L.  Alexander  is  authority  for  the 
statement  that  "  the  jugglers  of  India  will  for  a  few  pence  do 
tricks  with  serpents  far  more  wonderful  than  making  them 
rigid  so  as  to  resemble  staffs ;  and  any  clever  juggler  could 
make  water  in  a  tank  resemble  blood,  or,  when  the  country  was 
already  swarming  with  frogs,  could  cover  some  place,  that  had 

1  Hengstenberg:  Egypt  and  the  Books  of  Moses. 


450  SACRED  HISTORY. 

been  cleared  for  the  purpose,  with  these  reptiles  as  if  he  had 
suddenly  produced  them."^ 

Some  attention  is  due  to  the  suggestion  that  the  magicians 
were  the  ministers  of  Satan  with  power  to  deceive  by  their 
sorceries,  and  that  the  wonders  wrought  by  them  at  this  junc- 
ture, though  spurious  as  miracles,  were  beyond  the  competency 
of  mere  legerdemain.  This  exj)lanation  has  found  favor  with 
eminent  and  orthodox  scholars  well  represented  by  Professor 
Kurtz. 2  The  facts  by  which  it  is  supported  are  drawn  from  the 
mysterious  background  of  Divine  inspiration,  the  region  whence 
proceed  false  Christs,  false  prophets,  deceitful  workers,  privily 
bringing  in  damnable  heresies ;  the  man  of  sin,  whose  coming  is 
after  the  working  of  Satan,  with  all  power  and  signs  and  lying 
wonders.  On  the  other  hand,  in  behalf  of  the  opinion  that  the 
counter  wonders  in  Egypt  did  not  rise  to  the  bad  pre-eminence 
of  the  "  lying  wonders  "  described  by  Paul,  it  may  be  said  that 
the  resources  of  Oriental  jugglery  afford  a  satisfactory  exjDlana- 
tion  of  all  the  phenomena.  To  this  it  may  be  added  that  any 
suggestion  is  inadmissible  which  involves  the  idea  that  the  dry 
rod  of  the  magicians  was  turned  into  a  real  serpent,  —  an  act  of 
creative  power  which  belongs  only  to  God,  and  ought  not  to  be 
ascribed  to  Satan  or  to  any  other  finite  being.  Pharaoh  was 
perhaps  deluded  by  the  trickery  of  his  servants;  but  Pharaoh 
was  himself  a  party  to  the  pending  contest  with  the  Almighty, 
and  for  this  cause  God  sent  him  strong  delusion,  that  he  should 
believe  a  lie. 

1  Alexander.    Kitto,  i.  750.  2  Kurtz:  Old  Covenant. 


ORIENTAL  ABSOLUTENESS.         '  451 


CHAPTER  XXXI. 

PHAEAOH  MANEPHTAH. 

One  of  the  leading  characteristics  of  the  transactions  in 
Egypt  which  led  to  the  exodus  is  the  prominence  given  to  the 
reigning  monarch.  At  the  bush  God  said  to  Moses,  "  Come 
now,  I  will  send  you  to  Pharaoh."  Moses  replied,  "  Who  am 
I,  that  I  should  go  before  Pharaoh?"  On  their  arrival  in 
Egypt,  Moses  and  Aaron,  by  the  Divine  direction,  exhibited 
to  the  king  the  miraculous  credentials  of  their  commission,  and 
required  him  to  let  Israel  go,  on  the  penalty,  if  he  should 
refuse,  of  the  death  of  his  first-born  son.  The  brothers  held 
negotiations  with  the  king  in  person  through  the  period  of 
about  sixty  days.  The  magicians  were  defeated  before  his 
eyes ;  the  approach  of  the  plagues,  one  by  one,  was  announced 
to  him.  Several  of  them  were  removed  at  his  entreaty,  and 
on  his  promise  to  let  Israel  go ;  and  his  heart  was  repeatedly 
hardened  so  that  he  was  false  to  his  promise.  The  story,  with 
Manephtah  left  out,  would  be  unintelligible. 

His  prominence  was  derived  from  many  sources.  He  stood 
in  the  illustrious  line  of  the  Pharaohs,  who,  with  Ptolemies  of 
a  later  age,  were  the  Ca3sars  of  Egypt.  He  was  the  son  and 
immediate  successor  of  Rameses  the  Great.  Egypt,,  moreover, 
was  an  absolute  monarchy  of  the  Oriental  type  of  absolutism. 
The  dignity  of  the  kingdom  was  identified  with  the  person  of 
the  king,  to  a  degree  hardly  asserted  by  Louis  XIV.  in  his 
boast,  "Tlie  king  is  the  state."  Hiswill^his  caprices  even,  gave 
law  to  the  realm.  Nor  is  this  all.  "With  the  throne  of  his 
fathers,  Manephtah  inherited  their  Divine  honors.  The  name 
Pharaoh  is  derived  from  an  Egyptian  word  signifying  the  sun. 


452  SACRED  HISTORY. 

Wilkinson  is  of  the  opinion  that  the  name  was  probably  given 
in  the  earliest  times  to  the  Egyptian  kings,  because  they 
claimed  to  be  the  chiefs  on  earth,  as  the  sun  is  the  chief 
among  the  heavenly  bodies ;  and  afterwards,  when  this  lumi- 
nary became  the  object  of  idolatrous  worship  at  Heliopolis,  it 
was  the  representative  of  their  Sun-god.^  "  Son  of  the  Sun  " 
came  to  be  the  title  of  every  Pharaoh,  and  Manephtah  inherited 
this  divine  honor.  An  ode  by  one  of  his  poets-laureate  calls 
him  the  image  of  his  father  the  Sun,  and  the  merciful  lord  and 
creator  of  breath.^  Still  further,  in  the  struggle  on  the  Nile, 
the  most  formidable  adversary  of  the  true  religion  was  not 
Pharaoh  as  a  man,  or  as  an  official  representative  of  Egypt,  or 
as  a  king-god,  but  heathenism  itself  incarnate  in  his  person, 
and  endeavoring  to  strangle  the  Church  while  it  lay  in  the 
womb  of  Egypt.  In  his  ignominious  death  by  drowning  in 
the  Red  Sea,  the  king,  and  with  him  the  kingdom,  was  brought 
low;  and  more,  the  very  head  of  the  old  serpent  of  the  Nile 
was  crushed. 

Pharaoh's  position  explains  a  message  from  Jehovah  in  the 
interval  between  the  sixth  and  seventh  plagues.  Moses  was 
instructed  to  say  to  the  king,  that,  unless  he  would  let  the 
people  go,  the  Lord  God  of  the  Hebrews  would  smite  him  and 
his  people  with  pestilence,  and  cut  him  off  from  the  earth. 
Moses  repeated  to  Pharaoh  the  warning  words  of  Jehovah : 
"  And  in  very  deed  for  this  cause  have  I  raised  thee  up,  for  to 
show  in  thee  my  power,  and  that  my  name  may  be  declared 
throughout  all  the  earth"  (Exod.  ix.  16;  Rom.  ix.  17).  God 
had  "  raised  him  up,"  had  given  him  a  place  in  the  royal  line, 
had  supplied  him  with  wealth,  armies,  munitions  of  war,  and 
a  priesthood  skilled  in  magic  wonders,  had  allowed  him  to 
receive  the  heathen  apotheosis,  in  order  to  make  of  him  an 
example,  set  on  high,  to  suffer  a  righteous  retribution,  and 
to  declare  the  adorable  majesty  of  Jehovah  in  all  the  earth. 
Then  came  the  end.  A  storm  of  hail,  and  of  fire  mingled  with 
hail,  swept  over  Egypt.  The  hail  was  followed  by  the  locusts ; 
"  this  death,"  Pharaoh  called  it ;  '•'■  pestis  irce  deorum^''  "  the 
1  Wilkinson:  Ancient  Egypt,  iv.  267.  2  Geikie:  Hours,  etc.,  i.  129. 


GENTLE   TREATMENT  AT  FIRST.  453 

pestilence  of  Divine  wrath,"  so  Pliny  styles  it.  After  the 
locusts  came  a  mighty  west  wind,  after  the  wind  the  darkness, 
and  after  the  darkness  the  destruction  of  the  first-born,  and  the 
catastrophe  of  the  Red  Sea.  Tholuck  remarks  that  the  report 
of  the  display  of  God's  power  went  to  the  nations  round  about 
(xv.  14),  thence  to  the  Greeks  and  Romans,  and  now,  by  the 
Holy  Scriptures,  Jehovah's  power  over  Pharaoh  is  "declared 
in  all  the  earth." 

The  temper  of  the  king  was  disclosed  by  his  treatment  of  a 
Divine  requisition  which  was  very  early  laid  upon  him.  To 
Moses  at  the  bush  God  said,  "  Thou  shalt  come,  thou  and  the 
elders  of  Israel,  unto  the  king  of  Egypt,  and  ye  shall  say  unto 
him,  The  Lord  God  of  the  Hebrews  hath  met  us ;  and  now  let 
us  go,  we  beseech  thee,  that  we  may  sacrifice  to  Jehovah  our 
God"  (Exod.  iii.  18).  The  communication  was  respectful;  it 
was  conveyed  to  the  king  as  a  message  from  the  God  of  the 
Hebrews,  and  presented  hj  their  acknowledged  chiefs.  It 
took  the  form  of  a  petition,  "  We  beseech  thee."  The  request 
was  reasonable  ;  if  neglected  wilfully,  the  Hebrews  would  incur 
the  Divine  displeasure  (v.  3).  Moderate  was  it  also,  contem- 
plating nothing  more  than  a  short  leave  of  absence.  The 
request  carried  with  it  the  promise  of  a  return  of  the  people 
at  the  end  of  three  days.  There  is  no  intimation  that  the  king 
imputed  any  want  of  good  faith  to  Moses.  Again,  the  proposal 
was  an  act  of  mercy  to  Pharaoh.  It  gave  him  opportunity  to 
show  a  kindness  to  his  Hebrew  subjects,  and  a  spirit  of  obedi- 
ence to  God.  His  consent  might  have  opened  the  way  to  a 
friendly  agreement,  by  virtue  of  which  Israel  would  depart  in 
peace,  Pharaoh  receiving  a  blessing  from  God,  and  Egypt 
spared  from  the  terrors  of  the  Almight3^  While  it  was  an 
offer  of  kindness  to  the  king,  it  was  a  test  of  character.  He 
was  not  asked  to  send  his  laborers  to  Canaan,  or  even  to  set 
them  free.  Will  he,  at  the  command  of  Jehovah,  grant  an 
indulgence  so  small  as  a  three-days'  rest  from  labor,  for  the 
purpose  of  religious  worship  ?  Here  the  least  involved  the 
greatest.  The  refusal  to  grant  so  small  a  favor  made  it  clear 
that  he  would  treat  with  contempt   the   demand  to   let   the 


454  SACRED  HISTORY. 

people  go,  never  to  return.  His  answer  was  an  insolent  fling 
at  Jehovah :  "  Who  is  Jehovah,  that  I  should  obey  his  voice  ?  " 
"  Get  you  to  your  burdens."     "  Ye  be  idle,  ye  be  idle." 

What  followed  might  have  been  anticipated.  God  told 
Moses  that  he  would  crush  the  spirit  of  Pharaoh,  so  that  the 
king  would  not  only  let  the  people  go,  but  would  "  with  a 
strong  hand  drive  them  out  of  the  land."  Moses  never  renewed 
the  request  for  the  three-days'  visit  to  the  wilderness;  he  simply 
communicated  to  Pharaoh  the  command  of  God  to  let  the 
people  go  out  of  the  land,  never  to  return  (Exod.  vi.  11,  viii. 
1,  ix.  1).  As  the  series  of  terrors  went  forward,  the  king 
attempted  to  meet  the  proposition  of  Moses  by  counter  pro- 
posals. While  the  flies  were  swarming  in  the  land,  Pharaoh 
consented  that  the  Hebrews  might  offer  sacrifices  in  Egypt. 
No,  answered  Moses,  for  our  worship  is  an  abomination  to 
the  Egyptians,  and  they  will  stone  us.  When  the  king  was 
threatened  with  the  locusts,  he  said  that  the  Hebrews  might 
go  to  offer  the  sacrifice,  if  they  would  leave  their  wives  and 
children  in  Egypt.  Moses  replied  again  :  No,  for  the  law  of 
sacrifice  required  all  the  people  to  be  in  attendance.  In  the 
midst  of  the  plague  of  darkness,  the  king  proposed  that  all 
the  people  should  go,  leaving  in  Egypt  their  flocks  and  herds. 
No,  replied  Moses  finally,  for  the  question,  what  victims  and 
how  many,  would  be  needed  for  the  burnt-sacrifices,  must  be 
referred  to  Jehovah,  making  his  will  known  at  the  time  and 
place  of  the  solemnity.  Pharaoh  became  enraged,  and  drove 
Moses  from  his  presence  (x.  28,  29).  Moses  returned  shortly, 
to  announce  the  imj)ending  destruction  of  the  first-born.  High 
words  arose,  and  Moses  went  out  in  great  anger  (xi.).  The 
Almighty  then  took  the  case  into  his  own  hands. 

Exod.  xii.  29-36.  —  At  midnight  there  was  a  great  cry  in 
Egypt ;  Jehovah  smote  all  the  first-born,  from  the  first-born  of 
the  king  on  the  throne,  to  the  first-born  of  the  prisoner  in  his 
dungeon.  There  was  not  a  house  where  there  was  not  one 
dead.  Pharaoh  called  Moses  and  Aaron  by  night,  and  ordered 
them  peremptorily  to  leave  Egypt,  they  and  all  the  children  of 
Israel.     He  made  no  condition  whatever  looking  to  a  limited 


ISBAEL   TUBVST  OUT  OF  EGYPT.  455 

absence.  He  granted  fully  all  that  they  had  demanded  :  "  Take 
your  flocks  and  herds  as  ye  have  said,  and  be  gone,  and  bless 
me  also."  His  subjects  joined  in  the  entreaty.  They  did  not 
allow  the  Hebrews  time  to  bake  the  dough  which  was  in  the 
kneading-troughs ;  and  at  the  demand  of  the  Hebrews,  the 
Egyptians  loaded  them  down  "  with  jewels  of  silver  and  jewels 
of  gold,  and  raiment,"  and  sent  them  away  with  all  possible 
haste. 

Neither  Manephtah  nor  his  people  expected  them  to  return. 
That  question  had  been  settled  by  the  obstinacy  of  Pharaoh 
himself.  Jehovah  told  Moses  that  the  king  would  "surely 
thrust  them  out  altogether "  (xi.  1).  In  his  turn  the  king 
said  to  Moses,  "  Get  you  forth  from  among  my  people  ; "  and 
these  words,  uttered  in  that  awful  night,  can  mean  nothing  less 
than  an  order  to  depart,  never  to  return.  His  piteous  request 
for  a  blessing  was  a  final  farewell.  And  the  Egyptians  thought 
of  nothing  except  how  to  be  rid  of  them  before  daylight  if 
possible ;  for  they  cried  out  in  agony  and  despair,  "  We  be  all 
dead  men."  They  willingly,  if  not  "joyfully,  took  the  spoil- 
ing of  their  goods,"  to  induce  these  dangerous  people  to  go 
away  and  be  gone  forever.  Nothing  that  was  said  or  done  is 
inconsistent  with  this  statement.  The  words  of  the  king,  "  Go 
serve  the  Lord  as  he  hath  said,"  refer  to  the  flocks  and  herds 
mentioned  in  the  next  clause  (xii.  31,  32).  Pharaoh's  pursuit 
of  Israel  after  they  were  gone  is  explained  by  two  circum- 
stances, —  first,  his  heart  was  hardened ;  and  next,  he  was 
informed  that  the  fugitives  were  "entangled  in  the  land,  and 
the  wilderness  had  shut  them  in."  And  that  tiie  king  and  his 
people  intended  to  thrust  them  out,  for  good  and  all,  is  con- 
clusively proved  by  their  own  words  when  they  heard  that 
the  Hebrews  had  fled :  "  Why  have  we  done  this,  that  we  have 
let  Israel  go  from  serving  us  ?  "  (Exod.  xiv.  5.) 

The  process  known  as  the  hardening  of  Pharaoh's  heart  gave 
a  peculiar  color  to  these  transactions.  Before  Moses  left  Midian, 
he  was  forewarned  that  this  induration  would  surely  occur,  and 
would  enter  into  the  plan  of  Providence.  "  The  Lord  said  to 
Moses,  When  thou  goest  to  return  to  Egypt,  see  that  thou 


456  SACRED  HI  STORY. 

doest  all  these  wonders  before  Pharaoh,  which  I  have  put  into 
thine  hand ;  but  I  will  harden  his  heart,  that  he  shall  not  let 
the  people  go  "  (Exod.  iv.  21).  The  number  of  places  in  the 
history  of  the  exodus,  in  which  this  hardening  is  mentioned,  is 
twenty ;  indicating  the  prominence  given  to  the  incident.  The 
agencies  by  which  the  process  was  effected  are  distinctly 
mentioned. 

God's  agency  appears  in  Exod.  iv.  21,  vii.  3,  ix.  12,  x.  1,  20, 
27,  xi.  10,  xiv.  4,  8,  17. 

Pharaoh's  agency  appears  in  viii.  15,  32,  ix.  34,  xiii.  15. 

The  hardening  is  described  impersonally  in  vii.  13,^  14,  22, 
viii.  19,  ix.  7,  35. 

The  synopsis  shows  that  in  ten  places  out  of  the  twenty,  one- 
half  of  the  whole,  the  hardening  is  ascribed  to  God ;  in  four 
only,  to  the  king  himself;  and  in  six  places  the  term  is  used 
impersonally,  intimating  that  his  heart  was  simply  hardened. 
Next,  it  is  declared  that  Pharaoh  hardened  his  own  heart 
through  four  of  the  plagues,  but  after  the  sixth  plague  that 
sin  is  not  distinctly  imputed  to  him.  Again,  the  first  and  the 
last  instance  is  ascribed  to  God ;  or,  as  Hengstenberg  remarks, 
"  Pharaoh's  hardening  is  enclosed,  as  it  were,  by  God's."  "  It 
also  appears  to  proceed  from  design,  that  the  hardening  is 
attributed  at  first,  in  a  preponderating  degree  to  Pharaoh,  and 
toward  the  end  to  God.  The  higher  the  plagues  rise,  so  much 
the  more  does  Pharaoh's  hardening  assume  a  sujjernatural 
character,  so  much  the  more  obvious  is  its  supernatural  cau- 
sality." ^  Moreover,  the  synopsis  may  help  us  to  estimate  the 
value  of  the  various  explanations  of  the  process  which  have 
been  proposed. 

Some  have  ascribed  this  induration  to  the  direct  operation 
of  Divine  power  on  the  king's  heart.  God  stood  by  him,  and 
moved  him  to  refuse  to  let  the  people  go,  and  to  exult  in 
his  obstinacy  under  respite,  and  finally  to  pursue  the  Israelites 
after  their  departure  with  increased  malice  and  revenge.  By 
way  of  preparing  Pharaoh  for  his  final  state,  God  continually 

1  Revised  Version,  in  Exod.  vii.  13. 

2  Genuineness  of  the  Pent.,  ii.  380. 


HEART  HARDENING.  457 

hardened  his  heart  from  the  hegiunin^  to  tlie  end  of  his  days.^ 
Tliis  explanation  is  not  consistent  with  the  fact  that  the  king 
hardened  his  own  heart,  nor  with  the  generally  accepted  idea 
of  human  responsibility  and  of  the  Divine  administration. 

The  opposite  extreme  is  reached  by  those  who  resolve  the 
Divine  agency  in  this  process  into  something  merely  incidental. 
The  analogy  in  nature  is  taken  from  friction  in  machinery ;  it 
is  an  unavoidable  incident  in  the  best  possible  models.  The 
analogy  in  moral  government  is  the  injury  done  the  son  by 
domestic  discipline ;  the  parent's  proceedings  are  all  good,  but 
they  lead  incidentally  to  the  ruin  of  the  child.  Thus,  also,  in 
the  sphere  of  the  gospel,  Christ  designed  to  bring  peace,  but 
incidentally  strife  and  dissensions  come  in.  It  is  held,  accord- 
ingly, that  Pharaoh's  heart  was  hardened  not  by  any  Divine  act 
looking  to  that  result,  but  as  an  event  incidental  to  what  God 
did  in  Egypt  with  other  intentions.  Now,  it  may  well  be  said 
that  this  theory,  instead  of  explaining,  crowds  out  the  agencj 
of  God  ten  times  distinctl}^  asserted. 

God  permitted  Pharaoh  to  harden  his  own  heart ;  such  is 
the  thought  of  some  of  the  Lutheran  divines.  They  rely  on  the 
places,  four  in  number,  in  which  he  is  said  to  have  hardened 
his  heart ;  and  on  the  usage  of  the  Bible,  according  to  which 
events  are  ascribed  to  God,  which  in  his  Avisdom  he  allows  to 
occur.  Tins  solution  is  not  satisfactory.  Ten  times  out  of 
twenty  the  active  agency  of  God  is  affirmed  in  terms  as  precise 
as  those  used  in  the  four  places  which  afllrni  the  active  agency 
of  the  king.  Besides,  this  theory  makes  the  Divine  purposes 
dependent  on  the  human  will,  perverting  the  relations  of  God 
to  his  creatui'es.  And,  further,  God  announced  to  Moses  at  first, 
and  repeatedly  afterwards,  that  lie  intended  to  harden  the  king's 
heart  for  purposes  such  as  tlicso  :  that  he  might  bring  Israel  out 
of  Egypt  witli  great  judgments;  that  Israel  might  know  that  he 
is  Jehovah ;  that  their  posterity  might  hear  what  signs  and 
wonders  he  liad  wrought  in  the  land.  He  said  also  that  when 
Israel  should  depart,  he  would  harden  Pharaoh's  heart  that  he 
should  pursue  them,  and  God  would  be  honored ;  and  the  king 
1  Dr.  N.  Emmons:  iv.  p.  327. 


458  SACBED  niSTORY. 

and  all  his  hosts  and  the  Egyptians  should  know  that  he  is 
Jehovah.  These  are  the  fore-ordained  results  of  the  induration. 
They  cannot  be  explained  upon  the  theory  that  Pharaoh  was 
simply  allowed  to  harden  his  own  heart.  They  were  essential 
to  the  Divine  plan,  so  also  was  the  operation  by  which  these 
important  ends  were  secured  (Exod.  vii.  3-5,  x.  1,  2,  xi.  9, 
xiv.  4). 

The  solution  commonly  proposed  by  the  Calvinistic  theolo- 
gians is  taken  from  the  doctrine  of  judicial  abandonment.  They 
teach  us  that  we  are  to  deny,  on  the  one  hand,  that  God  merely 
permits  evil,  and,  on  the  other  hand,  to  deny  that  he  is  its  author. 
We  must  hold  fast  the  doctrine  that  evil  is  of  man,  and  that 
God  bounds  it  most  wisely  and  powerfully.  And  yet  it  is  to 
be  remembered,  that  the  hardening  of  the  sinner's  heart  is  itself 
punitive.^  It  presupposes  sin,  and  is  its  reward.  According 
to  this  thought,  God,  in  punishment  for  the  sins  of  Pharaoh, 
withheld  from  him  the  restraints  of  his  grace,  and  abandoned 
him  to  the  dominion  of  his  own  malignant  passions.  This  is 
the  basis  of  the  true  explanation,  as  appears  from  Rom.  i.  24- 
82,  where  we  read  that  God,  b}'"  way  of  punishing  the  wicked, 
gives  them  up  unto  "  vile  affections  ; "  and  this  "  re]3robate 
mind"  is  both  a  retribution  and  a  distinct,  aggravated  sin.  The 
solution  contemplates  the  three  aspects  presented  in  the  record. 
God  hardened  Pharaoh's  heart  by  giving  him  over  to  his  own 
wicked  passions ;  Pharaoh  hardened  his  own  heart  by  following 
his  evil  impulses ;  and  his  heart  was  hardened  by  the  joint 
agency  of  God  abandoning  the  man  to  himself,  and  of  the  king 
going  on  in  sin. 

But  may  we  not  inquire  whether  this  explanation,  in  order 
to  cover  the  case,  does  not  need  to  be  extended?  The  active 
causality  of  God,  so  often  asserted  in  the  record,  seems  to  imply 
somewhat  more  than  a  mere  abandonment  of  the  king  to  his 
own  rebellious  nature.  Another  and  further  idea  is  suggested ; 
the  hypothesis,  to  wit,  of  a  judicial  active  agency.  That  is  to 
say,  God,  in  judgment  for  his  sins,  not  only  withheld  gracious 
restraints  from  Pharaoh,  but  he  ordered  and  arranged  particu- 

1  Hodge  on  Rom.  ix,  14. 


INDURATION  POSITIVE  AND  PENAL.  459 

lar  events  which  made  his  heart,  already  disposed  to  evil,  still 
harder,  although  these  very  events  would  have  led  a  righteous 
man  to  do  right.  Here  the  order  of  thought  should  be  noticed. 
First,  the  king  had  oppressed  the  chosen  seed,  and  had  refused 
to  let  them  go  at  God's  command.  Next,  God  resolved  to  pun- 
ish the  cruel  and  disobedient  monarch.  Again,  the  particular 
punishment  awarded  was  hardness  of  heart.  Further,  this  sen- 
tence was  carried  into  effect  not  only  by  the  withdrawal  of  the 
restraints  of  providence  and  grace,  but  by  placing  the  king  in 
circumstances  which,  owing  to  liis  own  perversity,  served  to 
harden  his  heart,  although  his  heart  ought  to  have  been  softened 
by  them.  The  induration,  let  it  be  noticed,  did  not  precede, 
but  followed  after,  the  impiety  of  the  king,  and  was  its  fruit 
and  retribution.  Still  further,  this  obduracy  is  to  be  contem- 
plated under  two  aspects ;  under  one  it  was  a  grievous  sin, 
under  the  other  it  was  a  severe  punishment.  As  a  sin,  it  was 
the  act  of  Pharaoh  ;  as  a  punishment,  it  was  an  act  of  God. 
Looking  at  the  author  of  the  sin,  one  must  say  Pharaoh  hard- 
ened his  own  heart ;  looking  at  the  avenger  of  his  crimes,  one 
must  say  God  hardened  his  heart.  Guilt  and  wrath  were  min- 
gled in  the  bitter  cup ;  the  guilt  was  Pharaoh's  guilt,  the  wrath 
was  God's  wrath.  Toward  the  close  of  this  remarkable  struggle, 
the  insolence  of  the  king  became  insufferable,  and  this  harden- 
ing as  a  direct  judgment  of  God  came  out  in  bolder  relief;  the 
fact  being,  that  in  the  last  eight  places  in  which  the  hardening 
is  mentioned,  seven  times  out  of  eight  it  is  ascribed  to  the 
Almighty  .1 

The  circumstances  which  were  arranged  by  Jehovah,  and 
were  adapted  to  produce  the  result,  confirm  this  view  of  the 
case.  One  of  these  was  the  character  of  the  first  three  miracles 
wrought  by  IMoses ;  they  were  such  as  the  magicians  were  able 
to  counterfeit.  When  the  king  witnessed  the  success  of  their 
enchantments,  liis  "heart  was  hardened,"  and  he  turned  away 
in  contempt  from  Moses  and  his  demands  (Exod.  vii.  22,  23). 
Secondly,  certain  of  the  i)lagnes  wliich  annoyed  liim  excessivel}'"' 
were  attended  with  the  like  effect.  When  the  dust  of  the  earth 
1  See  Westminster  Confession,  chap.  v.  sect.  iv. 


460  SACRED  HISTORY. 

became  lice  or  gnats  on  man  and  beast,  on  Pharaoh  himself 
perhaps,  the  magicians  said  to  him,  "  This  is  the  finger  of  God," 
and  "his  heart  was  hardened"  (viii.  19).  When  the  boils 
broke  out  "upon  the  magicians  and  all  the  Egyptians,"  on 
Pharaoh  probably  as  well,  it  is  added,  "  The  Lord  hardened  his 
heart"  (ix.  12).  Thirdly,  the  respites  from  the  plagues  were 
followed  by  similar  results.  When  the  frogs  were  removed, 
"he  hardened  his  heart;"  when  the  flies  were  taken  away,  "he 
hardened  his  heart  at  this  time  also  ; "  and  "when  Pharaoh  saw 
that  the  rain  and  the  hail  and  the  thunders  were  ceased,  he 
sinned  yet  more  and  more,  and  hardened  his  heart,  he  and  his 
servants  "  (viii.  15,  32,  ix.  34).  He  took  offence,  fourthly,  at 
the  exemption  of  the  Hebrews  from  the  visitations  of  God. 
During  the  prevalence  of  the  murrain,  "Pharaoh  sent,  and 
behold,  there  was  not  one  of  the  cattle  of  the  Israelites  dead. 
And  the  heart  of  Pharaoh  was  hardened  "  (ix.  7).  Fifthly,  he 
resented  the  refusal  of  Moses  to  accede  to  any  compromise  re- 
specting the  festival  in  the  wilderness.  Moses,  having  declined 
two  counter  propositions,  rejected  the  third  also.  Thereupon 
"  the  Lord  hardened  Pharaoh's  heart,  and  he  would  not  let 
them  go  "  (x.  27).  Finally,  when  he  was  told  that  the  people, 
at  the  exodus,  were  shut  up  between  the  wilderness  and  the 
Red  Sea,  his  heart  was  hardened  once  more  (xiv.  8).  It  should 
be  mentioned  that  his  obduracy  led  him  more  than  once  to  ask 
Moses  to  intercede  for  him  while  the  plagues  were  raging, 
promising,  if  they  were  taken  away,  that  he  would  obey  the 
Divine  command ;  and  yet  in  ever}^  instance  he  was  false  to  his 
word.  Two  of  the  elements  entering  into  these  transactions 
are  the  Divine  appointment  of  all  the  destructive  agencies,  and 
their  specific  effect  on  the  heart  of  the  king.  But  a  third  ele- 
ment is  not  less  vital.  These  inflictions  would,  but  for  his 
obstinate  unbelief,  have  constrained  him  to  yield  to  the  demands 
of  Jehovah.  The  failures  of  the  magicians  ought  to  have  con- 
vinced him  that  they  were  either  impostors,  or  the  ministers  of 
some  lying  spirit ;  the  annoyance  which  he  suffered  from  the 
gnats  and  the  boils  should  have  humbled  his  pride ;  the  good- 
ness of  God  in  removing  the  terrors  ought  to  have  led  him  to 


PARALLEL  PASSAGES.  461 

repentance ;  the  protection  given  to  the  Hebrews  should  have 
rebuked  his  unbelief;  the  refusal  of  Moses  to  grant  any  conces- 
sions should  have  persuaded  him  to  yield  to  the  inevitable ;  and 
the  entanglement  of  Israel  in  the  wilderness  should  have  taught 
him,  in  connection  with  what  liad  already  occurred,  that  Jehovala 
of  hosts  was  encamped  not  far  away. 

The  foregoing  observations  on  the  liardening  of  Pharaoh's 
heart  indicate  the  proper  interpretation  of  Isa.  vi.  9,  10,  and 
its  paraphrases  in  the  New  Testament.  The  ninth  verse  in 
Isaiah  draws  attention  to  the  agency  of  the  Jews  in  bring- 
ing insensibility  and  blindness  on  themselves:  "Go  and  tell 
this  people,  Hear  ye  indeed,  but  understand  not ;  and  see  ye 
indeed,  but  perceive  not."  The  words  resemble  the  rebuke  of 
Christ  to  the  Jews  :  "  Fill  ye  up  the  measure  "  (the  iniquity) 
"of  your  fathers"  (Matt,  xxiii.  32).  The  tenth  verse  goes 
further,  and  affirms  the  agency  of  the  prophet  in  their  indura- 
tion :  "  Make  the  heart  of  this  people  fat,  and  make  their  ears 
heavy."  The  guilty  agency  of  the  people,  and  the  instrumental 
agency  of  the  prophet,  are  the  two  aspects  of  the  case  presented 
by  Isaiah.  Christ  in  Matt.  xiii.  15,  and  Paul  in  Acts  xxviii. 
27,  dwell  on  the  first  of  these  aspects,  showing  that  the  Jews 
fulfilled  the  prophecy  of  Isaiah,  by  their  self-inflicted  callous- 
ness :  "  For  the  heart  of  this  people  is  waxed  gross,  and  their 
ears  are  dull  of  hearing,  and  their  cz/es  have  they  closed^''''  etc. 
Finally,  in  John  xii.  40,  Christ  reveals  the  third  factor  in  this 
operation,  namel}^  the  agency  of  God  :  "He  hath  blinded  their 
eyes,  and  hardened  their  hearts."  We  are  taught,  therefore, 
by  the  words  of  God  through  Isaiah,  and  the  interpretation 
put  upon  them  by  Jesus  and  Paul,  that  the  three  parties  to 
this  proceeding  are  the  sinner  himself,  the  prophet,  and  the 
Almighty.  On  the  part  of  the  sinner  it  is  an  act  of  aggravated 
guilt ;  on  the  prophet's  part,  an  instrumental  agency ;  on  the 
part  of  the  Almight}',  it  is  a  just  retribution.  INIicliaelis  states 
it  tluis :  "  Deus  sic  prcecepit  jiidicialiter,  poptdus  criminaliter^ 
propheta  autem  minister ialiterr  J.  A.  Alexander  says,  "In  this 
fearful  process  there  are  three  distinguishable  agencies  expressly 
or  implicitly  described :  the  ministerial  agency  of  the  prophet, 


462  S  ACE  ED   HISTORY. 

the  judicial  agency  of  God,  and  the  suicidal  agency  of  the 
people  themselves."  ^  A  fine  instance  this  is  of  the  way  in 
which  the  Scriptures  exhibit,  progressively  and  harmoniously, 
the  various  jjhases  of  a  many-sided  truth.  It  illustrates, 
also,  the  perfect  wisdom  with  which  Christ  developed  and 
enlarged  the  profound  spiritual  meaning  of  the  old  prophets. 

By  the  same  rule  the  place  in  Rom.  ix.  18  is  to  be  explained : 
"  Therefore  hath  he  mercy  on  whom  he  will  have  mercy,  and 
whom  he  will  he  hardeneth."  The  discrimination  here  set 
forth  rests  on  the  distinction  between  the  dealings  of  God 
which  are  judicial,  and  those  which  are  sovereign.  The  reason 
why  he  punishes  any  man  is  found  in  the  bad  behavior  of  the 
man,  and  the  punitive  act  is  judicial.  The  reason  why  he  pun- 
ishes one  sinner  rather  than  another  is  to  be  sought  not  in  that 
other,  but  in  God  himself,  and  the  discrimination  is  sovereign. 
The  hardening  presupposes  the  existence  of  flagrant  sin,  and 
is  both  the  fruit  and  the  punishment  thereof.  The  order  of 
thought  to  be  observed  in  clearing  up  this  method  of  Divine 
retribution  is  pointed  out  in  what  is  said  above,  of  the  sin  and 
punishment  of  Pharaoh. 

1  Alexander  on  Isa.  vi.  9,  10,  and  on  Acts  xxviii.  27. 


FIBST-BOBN  FOB  FIBST-BOBN.  463 


CHAPTER   XXXII. 

THE  EXODUS. 

Before  the  series  of  plagues  began,  Jehovah  gave  this  com- 
mission to  Moses :  "  Thou  shalt  say  unto  Pharaoh,  Tims  saith 
the  Lord,  Israel  is  my  son,  even  my  first-born  ;  and  I  say  unto 
thee,  Let  my  son  go,  that  he  may  serve  me ;  and  if  thou  refuse 
to  let  him  go,  I  will  slay  thy  son,  even  thy  first-born  "  (Exod. 
iv.  22,  23).  Tills  message  defined  the  relation  of  the  people 
to  Jehovah.  Israel  was  his  son,  having  received  an  adoption 
flowing  from  Divine  grace.  Tlie  sonship  in  its  highest  sense 
was  spiritual.  They  were  chosen  to  be  a  holy  nation,  and  they 
owed  to  their  Father  love,  reverence,  and  obedience.  The 
term  "first-born  son"  is  both  a  term  of  endearment,  and  an 
intimation  of  the  adoption  of  many  other  sons  from  among  the 
heathen ;  just  as  the  change  of  Abram's  name  to  Abraham, 
"  the  father  of  many  nations,"  pointed  to  the  ingathering  of  the 
Gentiles.  The  message  shows,  also,  that  the  destruction  of 
the  first-born  was  the  death-wound  of  the  ten  blows  about 
to  be  laid  upon  Egypt.  The  nine  were  preliminary  to  the 
tenth,  and  in  the  nature  of  warnings ;  the  tenth  was  the  work 
of  final  judgment.  That  infliction,  moreover,  returned  like  for 
like,  —  that  is  to  say,  the  leading  characteristic  of  the  sin  of 
Egypt  was  reiterated  in  the  leading  characteristic  of  the  pun- 
ishment, upon  the  principle  involved  in  "an  eye  for  an  eye, 
a  tooth  for  a  tooth."  The  oppression  of  Israel,  God's  first-born 
son,  was  the  sin;  the  destruction  of  the  first-born  sons  of  the 
oppressors  was  the  punishment.  The  visitation  was,  further, 
thoroughly  supernatural.  Unlike  most  of  the  preceding  won- 
ders, the  destruction  of  the  oldest  son  was   not   a   calamity 


464  SACRED  HISTORY. 

indigenous  to  the  country,  under  a  form  intensely  aggravated 
by  tlie  Almighty ;  but  it  was  altogether  a  strange  terror,  never 
before  inflicted,  never  since  repeated.  Finally,  the  tenth  plague 
was  not  introduced  by  human  instrumentality.  During  the 
progress  of  the  wonders,  the  ministries  employed  rose  in 
dignity.  In  the  first  three,  Aaron  used  the  rod ;  at  the  fourth, 
and  thence  onward,  Moses  was  prominent;  but  in  the  tenth, 
Moses  warned  Pharaoh  and  the  Hebrews  that  the  disaster  was 
approaching,  and  then  stepped  aside  at  the  coming  of  the 
Jehovah-Angel.  God  had  said  to  Moses,  "About  midnight  I 
will  go  out  into  the  midst  of  Egypt ; "  and  to  the  king,  "  I  will 
slay  thy  son,  even  thy  first-born  son."  This  plague,  as  Kurtz 
remarks,  was  of  such  a  kind  that  even  hardness  and  unbelief 
could  not  refuse  to  admit  the  interposition  of  the  personal, 
living,  supreme,  and  almighty  God. 

Several  Divine  institutions,  established  at  the  time  of  the 
exodus,  bring  out  its  memorable  significancy.  One  of  these 
was  the  appointment  of  a  new  era.  The  Hebrews  had  been 
accustomed  to  begin  the  year  with  the  month  Tisri,  correspond- 
ing very  nearly  with  our  October.  The  exodus  occurred  in 
the  month  Nisan,  corresponding  very  nearly  with  our  April ; 
and,  by  the  Divine  direction,  the  year  was  thenceforth  to  begin 
at  that  time.  According  to  Josephus,  this  change  determined 
the  beginning  of  the  ecclesiastical  year  only;  the  civil  year 
began  six  months  later,  as  before.^  The  ecclesiastical  year  began 
with  the  Passover,  the  civil  year  with  the  sabbath  and  the  jubi- 
lee (Lev.  xxiii.  5;  Num.  ix.  3).  This  arrangement  gave  to  the 
Hebrews  a  double  computation  of  time,  not  unlike  the  method 
adopted  in  the  United  States,  whereby  important  state  papers 
bear  two  dates  ;  one  running  with  the  vulgar  era,  and  proceed- 
ing from  the  first  day  of  January,  and  the  other  governed  by 
the  Declaration  of  Independence,  and  beginning  with  the  fourth 
day  of  July.  By  the  exodus,  Israel  acquired  a  spiritual,  in 
addition  to  its  natural,  character ;  ^  and  it  was  a  turning-point 
in  the  history  of  redemption,  changing  the  face  of  the  world. 
Many  eminent  historians,  though  failing  to  recognize  the  reli- 

1  Antiq.  Jud.,  i.  1,  chap.  iii.  53.        2  Hengstenberg:  Kingdom  of  God,  i.  278. 


FEAST  OF  JEHOVAH'S  PASSOVER.  465 

gious  significance  of  that  event,  agree  in  clothing  it  "with  tlie 
dignity  of  an  epoch.  Ewakl  says  that  "the  montli  of  departure 
became  the  commencement  of  the  whole  national  freedom,  and 
Moses  was  fully  justified  in  placing  in  the  spring  the  festival 
of  the  deliverance  of  Israel,  and  the  commencement  of  a  new 
era."  ^  "  History,"  says  Bunsen,  "  was  born  in  the  night  when 
the  children  of  Israel  went  forth  out  of  Egypt."  ^  President 
Edwards,  with  a  finer  sense  of  the  place  of  the  exodus  in  the 
history,  says,  "  This  was  quite  a  new  thing  that  God  did  towards 
the  great  work  of  redemption.  God  had  never  done  any  thing 
like  it  before  (Deut.  iv.  32,  3-4).  This  was  a  great  advance- 
ment of  the  work  that  had  been  begun  and  carried  on  from  the 
fall  of  man ;  a  great  step  taken  in  Divine  providence  toAvards 
the  preparation  for  Christ's  coming  into  the  world,  and  working 
out  his  great  and  eternal  redemption :  for  this  was  the  people 
of  whom  Christ  came."  ^ 

The  feast  of  the  Passover  was  now  instituted.  Each  family 
of  the  Hebrews  was  required  to  procure  a  lamb  or  a  kid  without 
blemish,  a  male  of  the  first  year.  On  the  fourteenth  day  of  the 
month  the  animal  was  killed ;  the  blood  was  sprinkled  on 
the  door-posts  and  lintels  of  the  house  ;  the  body  of  the  lamb 
was  roasted  whole,  and  eaten  l)y  the  family,  parents  and  chil- 
dren, with  unleavened  bread  and  bitter  herbs.  They  partook 
of  the  repast  in  haste,  with  their  garments  girded  about  their 
loins,  sandals  on  tlieir  feet,  and  staff  in  hand,  ready  at  a  given 
signal  to  set  off  for  Canaan.  At  midnight  the  Almighty 
passed  through  the  land,  smiting  the  first-born  of  the  Egyp- 
tians, but  passing  over  the  houses  the  door-posts  of  which 
were  marked  with  the  blood  of  the  paschal  lamb.  The  cere- 
mony was  "Jehovah's  passover;"  for,  said  he  to  the  IIeI)re\A^s, 
"I  will  pass  over  you."  The  "passing  through"  was  in  judg- 
ment on  the  Eg3q:)tians,  the  "  passing  over  "  was  in  merc}^  to 
the  Hebrews.  The  feast  was  established  as  a  perpetual  ordi- 
nance. It  was  kept  sacred  by  the  Jews  down  to  the  destruc- 
tion of  their  commonwealth  at  the  fall  of  Jerusalem ;  it  has 
even  survived  that  catastrophe  among  the  Jews,  and  appears 

1  Antiq.  Israel,  p.  344.  2  Egypt,  i.  23.  8  Hist.  Red.,  p.  208. 


466  SACBED  HISTOBT. 

to   this  day  in  Christendom   under  the   name   of  the   Easter 
festivaL 

The  Passover  was,  in  the  first  place,  a  commemorative  insti- 
tution. Said  God  to  the  Hebrews,  "  This  day  shall  be  unto 
you  for  a  memorial."  "  When  your  children  shall  say  unto  you, 
What  mean  ye  by  this  service?  ye  shall  say,  It  is  the  sacri- 
fice of  the  Lord's  passover,  who  passed  over  the  houses  of  the 
children  of  Israel  in  Egypt ;  when  he  smote  the  Egyptians,  and 
delivered  our  houses."  Moses  said,  "  It  is  a  night  to  be  much 
observed  unto  the  Lord  for  bringing  them  out  of  the  land  of 
Egypt"  (Exod.  xii.).  Much  importance  was  given  to  the 
exodus  by  an  alteration  in  the  Fourth  Commandment.  Accord- 
ing to  the  text  given  at  Sinai,  the  sabbath  day  is  to  be  remem- 
bered because  God  rested  on  that  day  from  the  six  days  of 
creation.  In  the  recapitulation  of  the  law  in  Deut.  v.  15,  that 
reason  was  omitted  for  the  time  being,  and  the  Hebrews  were 
directed  to  keep  the  sabbath  in  remembrance  of  the  exodus ; 
perhaps  their  flight  was  on  the  sabbath  day.  But  with  the  fall 
of  the  commonwealth,  the  sabbath,  considered  as  a  Jewish  ordi- 
nance, lost  its  significance ;  and  the  Church  of  God  came  back 
to  the  ground  for  its  observance  which  was  laid  at  the  creation, 
and  hallowed  in  the  Fourth  Command. 

The  Passover  was,  moreover,  a  teaching  institution.  The 
doctrine  taught  is  salvation  by  tlie  shedding  of  blood.  The 
Hebrews  had  partaken  with  the  Egyptians  in  their  idolatry,  and 
in  the  liabilities  which  that  sin  draws  after  it.  A  community  in 
guilt  brought  the  first  three  judgments  on  both  peoples  alike. 
Thenceforth  they  were  made  to  differ,  and  the  jilagues  fell  only 
on  the  Egyptians.  But  inasmuch  as  the  Hebrews  were  better 
neither  by  nature  nor  by  behavior  than  the  heathen,  their 
exemption  from  the  death-blow  could  be  secured  in  no  other 
way  than  by  the  shedding  and  sprinkling  of  blood.  They  had 
been  chosen  by  the  election  of  grace,  they  miist  be  redeemed  by  . 
an  atonement.  "  And  the  blood,"  said  Jehovah,  "  shall  be  a 
token  upon  the  houses  where  ye  are  ;  and  when  I  see  the  blood 
I  will  pass  over  you  "  (Exod.  xii.  13,  comp.  ver.  23).  Some  of 
the  cardinal  ideas  which  enter  into  the  gospel  are  expressed  in 


THE  PASSOVER  A   SACEIFICE.  4G7 

this  transaction.  God  will  have  a  chosen  people  to  serve  him ; 
they  must  be  chosen  not  only,  but  redeemed  as  well ;  this 
redemption  is  effected  by  the  blood  of  the  Lamb  of  God  ;  the 
shed  blood  must  be  appropriated  by  an  act  of  faith  on  the  part 
of  the  sinner,  even  as  the  Hebrews  sprinkled  the  paschal  blood 
on  their  door-posts  ;  when  the  Almighty,  coming  to  judge  the 
wicked,  sees  "  the  blood,"  he  will  pass  over  his  chosen,  re- 
deemed, and  believing  people  ;  and  the  destruction  of  the 
wicked  goes  hand  in  hand  with  the  salvation  of  the  righteous. 

Next,  the  Passover  was  a  sacrifice.  Many  of  the  earlier  Prot-' 
estant  theologians  held  that  it  was  a  sacrament  only,  not  a  sac- 
rifice. They  were  driven  to  this  position  by  a  polemic  of  the 
Roman-Catholic  divines,  contending  that  the  Lord's  Supper, 
being  the  substitute  and  continuation  of  the  Passover,  is,  like 
the  Passover,  a  sacrifice  for  sin.  To  this  suggestion  the  suffi- 
cient answer  is,  that  the  quality  of  a  sacrifice  cannot  appear  in 
the  Lord's  Supper,  for  the  reason  that  since  the  death  of  Christ 
there  remains  no  more  sacrifice  for  sin ;  and  for  the  further 
reason,  that  the  supper  is  simply,  by  Christ's  appointment,  a 
commemoration  of  the  atonement,  not  the  atonement  itself. 
That  the  Passover  was  a  sacrifice,  is  evident.  It  is  called  in 
Exod.  xii.  27,  the  "  sacrifice  of  the  Lord's  passover ; "  in  xxxiv. 
25,  the  "sacrifice  of  the  feast  of  the  passover;"  in  Num.  ix. 
T,  "an  offering  of  the  Lord;"  and  in  Deut.  xvi.  2-6,  the  term 
"sacrifice  "is  four  times  applied  to  the  ceremony.  After  the 
building  of  the  Temple  the  paschal  lamb  was,  by  Divine  com- 
mand, to  be  slain  at  the  sanctuary,  and  in  no  other  place  (Deut. 
xvi.  5).  Both  the  blood  and  the  fat  of  the  paschal  victims  were 
offered  by  the  priest  on  the  altar,  according  to  the  invariable  law 
of  atonement  (2  Chron.  xxxv.  1,  11,  14).  And,  further,  Paul 
puts  into  the  same  category  the  slaying  of  the  paschal  lamb 
and  the  death  of  Christ :  "  For  even  Christ  our  passover  "  (our 
paschal  lamb,  Mark  xiv.  12)  "  is  sacrificed  for  us  "  (1  Cor.  v.  7). 
Moreover,  the  ritual  of  the  ordinance  was  sacrificial.  The  victim 
was  a  lamb  or  kid  without  blemish  ;  the  officiating  priest,  in  the 
absence  of  a  sacerdotal  order,  was  the  patriarch  of  the  family ; 
the  altar,  in  the  absence  of  a  public  sanctuary,  was  the  doorway 


468  SACRED  UISTOEY. 

of  the  house ;  the  sprinkling  of  blood  upon  the  door-posts  and 
lintel  was  an  act  of  obedience  to  God  and  of  faith  in  his  promise  ; 
the  passing  over  of  the  houses  marked  by  the  blood  was  an  act 
of  God  administering  his  own  rule  of  salvation  ;  and  the  whole 
was  a  true  expiation  for  sin,  offered  by  the  sinner,  and  accepted 
by  the  sovereign  Judge.  Nor  is  any  importance  to  be  attached 
to  the  particulars  wherein  the  first  Passover  differed  from  the 
ritual  of  sacrifice  prescribed  at  Sinai.  The  imposition  of  hands, 
the  ministry  of  Aaronic  priesthood,  the  offering  of  the  blood  and 
fat  on  the  altar,  were  necessarily  omitted  in  Egypt,  because 
neither  a  consecrated  priesthood  nor  altar  of  burnt-offering  was 
in  existence.  The  attitude  of  the  worshippers  on  the  night  of 
the  exodus,  eating  the  flesh  of  the  lamb  in  haste,  with  girded 
loins,  the  feet  in  sandals,  the  staves  in  hand,  were  actions  which 
were  afterwards  laid  aside.  They  were  accidents  attending 
the  rite  celebrated  in  Egypt,  not  substantial  characteristics  of  the 
ordinance. 

The  feast  of  the  passover  was  also  a  sacrame&t,  —  one  of 
the  two  sacraments  of  the  Abrahamic  covenant.  Circumcision 
was  the  first  in  order,  and  was  given  as  a  part  of  that  covenant. 
Four  hundred  and  thirty  years  had  elapsed  since  that  sign  and 
seal  was  instituted.  Nearly  two  hundred  years  had  passed 
since  Jehovah  had  made  any  communication  of  his  will  to  the 
chosen  seed,  whether  by  vision,  by  covenant,  or  by  oral  revela- 
tion. Through  many  generations  the  seed  of  Abraham  had 
been  enslaved  by  the  heathen.  When  Jehovah  came  to  bring 
them  out  of  bondage  in  Egypt,  he  is  said  to  have  remembered 
his  covenant.  In  order  to  give  dignity  to  the  new  epoch,  he 
appointed  a  new  sign  of  his  ancient  covenant,  in  the  form  of 
the  second  sacrament.  The  relation  of  the  Passover  to  the 
Abrahamic  covenant  is  easily  defined.  It  was  in  due  time 
incorporated  with  circumcision  into  the  Mosaic  institutes ;  but 
it  is  older  than  the  Sinaitic  covenant,  older  than  the  Levitical 
priesthood,  older  than  the  ceremonial  law.  It  pertains,  there- 
fore, to  the  covenant  made  with  Abraham  four  hundred  and 
thirty  years  earlier,  and  was  a  new  sacrament  added  to  the 
initiatory  rite  of  circumcision.     The  sacramental  character  of 


MABKS   OF  A   SACRAMENT.  409 

the  Passover  is  to  be  recognized  (1)  in  the  fact  that  it  was 
of  Divine  appointment,  in  the  absence  of  which  no  observance 
can  be  a  true  sacrament.  (2)  The  two  essential  parts  of  a  sac- 
rament, the  visible  sign  and  the  inward  grace  signified  thereby, 
were  present  in  the  Passover.  The  lamb,  killed,  roasted,  and 
eaten  with  unleavened  bread  and  bitter  herbs,  made  up  the 
sign.  Exemption  from  the  destruction  of  the  first-born,  and 
deliverance  from  slavery,  were  the  immediate  blessings  repre- 
sented; but  redemption  from  sin  by  the  blood  of  Christ  was 
the  spiritual  grace  signified  in  the  ordinance.  (3)  The  minis- 
ters of  tlie  ordinance  were  divinely  designated,  —  in  Egypt 
the  head  of  the  family,  and  in  the  final  form  of  the  ritual  the 
priest  jointly  with  the  head  of  the  family.  (4)  The  trutlis 
proper  to  a  sacrament  were  set  forth  in  the  paschal  symbols. 
The  killing  and  roasting  of  the  lamb  conveyed  the  idea  of  an 
offering  made  for  sin  by  the  knife  and  fire.  Its  body  laid  on 
the  table  whole  and  entire,  not  a  bone  being  broken,  expressed 
the  unity  of  the  chosen  seed,  and  of  the  one  sacrifice  for 
sin.  The  burning  of  what  remained  after  supper,  and  the 
giving  it  back  to  God  by  fire,  indicated  that  all  the  flesh 
of  the  lamb  was  set  aside  from  a  common  to  a  sacred  use. 
(5)  Tlie  gracious  affections'  proper  to  a  true  sacrament  were 
demanded  in  the  observance  of  the  Passover.  Repentance  for 
sin  was  represented  by  the  bitter  herbs ;  the  entire  exclusion  of 
inworking  corruption  was  expressed  by  the  putting-away  of  the 
leaven  (Exod.  xii.  15 ;  1  Cor.  v.  5-8)  ;  a  joyful  sense  of  union 
and  communion  with  God  was  awakened  by  the  sight  of  the 
unbroken  body  of  the  lamb ;  and  a  living  faith  in  the  coming 
one,  the  Lamb  of  God,  was  set  forth  typically  in  the  paschal 
sacrifice. 

The  intimate  nature  of  circumcisit)n  and  the  Passover,  and 
their  relations  to  each  other,  might  be  set  forth  somewliat  thus : 
Both  were  signs  and  seals  of  the  covenant  of  grace  which  was 
manifested  in  the  covenant  with  Abraham.  Both  were  of  per- 
petual obligation  by  virtue  of  the  Divine  connnand ;  and  butli 
were  sacredly  observed  by  the  chosen  seed,  witli  certain  inter- 
vals of  guilty  neglect,  down  to  tlie  death  of  Christ.     Circum- 


470  SACRED  HISTOEY. 

cision  was  administered  to  the  Master  himself  when  eight  days 
old,  and  he  kept  the  Passover  with  the  disciples  on  the  night 
in  which  he  was  betrayed.  The  particulars  wherein  these 
ordinances  differed  are :  (1)  Circumcision  left  a  mark  in  the 
flesh  of  the  subject,  certifying  to  his  birthright  under  the 
covenant :  the  Passover  had  no  such  personal  sign.  (2)  Males 
only  received  circumcision :  all  persons  of  suitable  age,  male 
and  female,  were  admitted  to  the  Passover.  (3)  Circumcision 
was  applied  to  its  subjects  severally,  one  by  one :  the  Passover 
was  a  social  festival,  a  family  re-union,  expressing  the  com- 
munion of  saints.  (4)  In  circumcision  the  subject  was  passive ; 
in  the  Passover  he  was  active  ;  he  ate  the  flesh  of  the  lamb  and 
the  bitter  herb,  and  drank  the  cup  of  blessing.  (5)  Infant 
circumcision  was  an  act  of  faith  on  the  part  of  the  parent :  the 
eating  of  the  Passover  was  an  act  of  faith  on  the  part  of 
the  communicant.  (6)  Circumcision  pointed  to  the  corruption 
of  fallen  man,  and  was  a  sign  of  regeneration :  the  Passover 
pointed  to  his  guilt,  and  was  the  sign  of  pardon  through 
atoning  blood.  (7)  Inasmuch  as  regeneration  can  occur  but 
once,  it  was  well  represented  by  circumcision,  which  can  be 
applied  but  once ;  inasmuch  as  the  believer  needs  continual 
pardon  and  saving  grace,  the  Passover  was  offered  year  by  year 
continually.  The  particulars  wherein  circumcision  and  the 
Passover  differ,  and  the  particulars  wherein  baptism  and  the 
Lord's  Supper  differ,  need  not  be  stated  here. 

There  is  a  close  connection  between  the  Passover  of  the  old 
covenant  and  the  Lord's  Supper  of  the  new  covenant.  While 
Christ  was  celebrating  the  Passover  with  the  eleven,  he  took 
the  bread  and  the  wine  that  were  before  him,  and  blessed  these 
elements,  and  gave  them  to  his  disciples,  repeating  the  words 
of  a  new  institution.  The  feast  which  began  as  the  old  Pass- 
over terminated  by  a  gentle  and  beautiful  transition  in  the 
sweeter  and  holier  sacrament,  even  as  the  morning  brightens 
into  the  perfect  day.  There  is,  moreover,  a  close  resemblance 
between  the  Passover  and  the  Lord's  Supper.  Both  were 
instituted  a  few  hours  previous  to  the  events  which  they  were 
appointed  to  commemorate.     Both  are  festal,  social,  and  sym- 


PRIESTHOOD  INSTITUTED.  ill 

bolical.  Each  sustains  similar  relations  to  its  fellow  ordinance  : 
none  but  the  circumcised  might  come  to  the  Passover,  none 
but  the  baptized  may  approach  the  Lord's  table.  Both  are 
monuments  of  a  great  redemption;  both  are  prophetic,  —  the 
Jewish  Passover  foreshowing  the  first  coming  of  Christ,  the 
Christian  Passover  pointing  to  his  second  coming.  The  Lord 
Jesus  slain  for  sin  was  set  forth  in  both,  —  in  the  old  sacra- 
ment by  the  lamb,  in  the  new  by  the  bread  and  the  wine. 
The  sacramental  action  in  the  two  are  the  same;  the  communi- 
cant eats  the  flesh  of  the  lamb  in  the  first,  and  in  the  latter  he 
partakes  of  the  symbols  of  Christ's  body  and  blood.  Repent- 
ance for  sin,  faith  in  the  sufficiency  and  efficacy  of  Christ's 
blood,  and  communion  with  God  and  all  the  saints,  are  the 
graces  suitable  to  the  one  and  the  other.  It  is  to  be  dis- 
tinctly borne  in  mind,  however,  that  the  two  sacraments  of 
the  Christian  Church  are  far  more  precious  as  means  of  grace 
and  vehicles  of  saving  truth  than  the  two  sacraments  of  the 
Jewish  Church;  just  as  the  Christian  Scriptures  are  richer  than 
the  Jewish  Scriptures  in  the  same  grace  and  truth. 

Besides  the  feast  of  the  Passover,  two  other  Mosaic  institutes 
took  their  origin  from  the  destruction  of  the  first-born.  The 
sacerdotal  order  is  one  of  these.  From  the  story  of  Cain  and 
Abel  we  learn,  that,  in  the  beginning,  every  worshipper  offered 
gifts  and  sacrifices  for  himself.  From  the  history  of  Noah, 
Abraham,  and  Melchizedek,  we  gather  that  tlie  oflice  of  the 
priest  was  put  in  the  head  or  patriarch  of  the  family.  During 
the  period  of  the  bondage,  worship  at  the  Hebrew  altar  was 
suppressed  by  the  Egyptians  (Exod.  viii.  26).  At  the  exodus, 
God  prepared  the  way  for  a  sacerdotal  order,  by  setting  apart 
for  that  purpose  all  the  first-born  sons  of  the  twelve  tribes,  lie 
declared,  that  on  the  day  Avhen  he  smote  all  the  first-born  (if 
the  Egyptians,  he  separated  unto  himself  All  the  first-born 
of  Israel,  both  man  and  beast :  "  Mine  they  shall  be,  I  am 
Jehovah"  (Exod.  xiii.  2;  Num.  iii.  13).  By  this  appointment 
the  first-born  male,  both  of  man  and  l)east,  was  reserved  for  tlie 
altar;  the  former  as  the  priest,  the  latter  as  the  victim.  Tlie 
designation  of  the  first-born  of  all  Israel  to  the  priestly  office 


472  SACRED  HISTORY. 

was  provisional  only.  About  six  months  later  the  law  was 
amended  at  Sinai  by  Jehovah.  Aaron  and  his  sons  were  set 
apart  to  the  priesthood ;  and  shortly  afterwards  the  males  of  the 
whole  tribe  of  Levi,  to  which  Aaron  belonged,  were  constituted 
in  perpetuity  the  sacerdotal  order.  The  circumstances  amidst 
which  this  change  was  effected  appear  in  the  record.  The 
cruelty  of  Levi  in  the  slaughter  of  the  Shechemites,  described 
in  Gen.  xxxiv.,  moved  Jacob,  when  he  was  dying,  to  exclude 
the  tribe  of  that  son  from  any  separate  inheritance  in  the  land 
of  Canaan  (Gen.  xlix.  7).  At  the  exodus,  therefore,  Levi's  de- 
scendants set  out  for  a  country  in  which  there  was  not  an  acre 
that  they  could  call  their  own.  But  when  the  people  worshipped 
the  molten  calf  at  Sinai,  the  warriors  of  the  disinherited  tribe  of 
Levi  flew  to  arms  at  the  call  of  Moses,  and  slew  three  thousand 
of  the  idolaters.  Li  acknowledgment  of  their  piety  and  courage, 
they  were  raised  to  the  dignity  of  a  holy  tribe  (Exod.  xxxii. 
25-29 ;  Deut.  xxxiii.  8-10).  A  census  was  taken  showing  that 
the  number  of  males,  first-born  and  after-born,  in  the  tribe  of 
Levi,  was  22,000 ;  and  the  number  of  first-born  males  in  the 
other  eleven  tribes  was  22,273.  Jehovah  ordered  22,000  of  the 
sons  of  the  tribe  of  Levi  to  be  taken,  instead  of  an  equivalent 
number  of  the  sons  of  the  other  tribes ;  and  he  directed,  that 
the  excess  of  the  males  in  the  eleven  tribes,  being  273,  should 
be  redeemed  at  the  rate  of  five  shekels  each ;  the  redemption- 
money  to  be  deposited  in  the  treasury  of  the  sanctuary.  By 
this  proceeding  Jehovah  took  the  Levites  to  himself,  instead 
of  all  the  first-born  of  Israel.  Aaron  and  his  sons  in  all  genera- 
tions held  the  priesthood ;  and  the  other  Levites,  in  perpetual 
succession,  discharged  the  inferior  offices  of  public  worship 
(Num.  iii.  12-51,  viii.  16-18).  And  so  the  act  of  God  at  the 
exodus,  consecrating  to  liimself  the  first-born,  terminated  in 
the  establishment,  for  all  time  to  come,  of  a  priesthood  for  Israel. 
In  order  to  complete  this  part  of  the  history,  it  should  be  added, 
that  in  the  settlement  of  Canaan  the  family  of  Aaron  received 
neither  part  nor  lot  in  the  sacred  soil ;  the  Lord  was  their  inherit- 
ance, that  is  to  say,  he  charged  himself  with  their  maintenance 
(Num.  xviii.  20).     To  the  Levites  were  assigned  the  tithes  of 


BEDEMPTION  OF  FIRST-BORN.  473 

all  Israel,  together  with  forty-eight  cities  distributed  throughout 
Palestine.  By  these  measures,  ample  provision  was  made  for 
their  support,  while  the  forfeiture  long  before  announced  in 
the  prophecy  of  Jacob  was  enforced:  "1  will  divide  them 
in  Jacob,  and  scatter  them  in  Israel." 

The  destruction  of  the  first-born  of  the  Egyptians,  and  the 
preservation  of  the  first-born  of  the  Hebrews,  extended  not 
only  to  the  families  of  both  people,  but  to  their  beasts  likewise. 
The  ordinance  by  which  Jehovah  consecrated  the  first-born  of 
the  chosen  seed  to  the  priesthood,  provided  victims  for  the 
altar  in  their  flocks  and  herds  (Num.  iii.  13).  The  firstling 
of  the  clean  kind,  as  of  oxen,  sheep,  and  goats,  was  brought  to 
the  altar ,  the  offs^jring  of  an  unclean  beast,  as  the  foal  of  an 
ass,  might  be  redeemed  by  a  lamb,  or  its  neck  broken,  at  the 
option  of  the  owner  (Num.  xviii.  17 ;  Exod.  xiii.  13).  It  is 
probable,  moreover,  that  the  rule  by  which  God  reserved  to 
himself  the  first-fruits  of  the  earth  of  every  kind,  rested  on  the 
principles  involved  in  the  sanctification  of  the  first-born  (Exod. 
xxii.  29,  30). 

The  Mosaic  institute,  known  as  the  redemption  of  the  first- 
born, is  another  memorial  of  the  events.  When  a  first-born 
child  attained  the  age  of  a  month,  the  parents  were  required, 
by  the  Levitical  law,  to  pay  five  shekels  —  say  two  dollars  and 
a  half  —  into  the  sanctuary.  The  ordinance  is  set  out  in  Exod. 
xiii.  15,  and  in  Num.  xviii.  16 ;  and  it  rested  on  the  rescue  of 
the  first-born  in  Egypt.  The  Passover  commemorated  this  event 
once  a  year ;  the  redemption  of  the  first-born  kept  alive  the 
memory  of  that  deliverance  thr(mghout  tlie  entire  year.  The 
usage  associated  the  departure  from  Egypt  with  the  joy  of 
the  parents  in  the  birth  of  their  first-born  ;  it  afforded  a  steady 
revenue  to  the  sanctuary ;  it  was  not  a  burdensome  tax,  because 
it  was  levied  on  a  family  only  once,  and  at  a  time  when  its 
other  expenses  were  comparatively  light.  The  ordinance  was 
in  force  down  to  the  end  of  the  dis})cnsation.  Jesus  was  him- 
self redeemed  l)y  liis  parents,  as  a  })art  of  the  rigliteousuess 
which  tliey  were  required  to  fulfil  on  liis  l)ehalf  (Luke  ii.  23,  24). 
The  idea  of  redemption,  and  the  kindred  idea  of  the  se[)aration 


474  SACRED  HISTORY. 

of  the  redeemed  to  the  service  of  God,  pervaded  the  mstitutes 
of  Judaism.  He  reserved  to  himself  the  first-fruits  of  the  earth 
in  all  their  kinds,  in  token  that  every  returning  harvest  and 
vintage  belonged  of  right  to  him.  The  redemption  of  the  first- 
born, and  the  oblation  of  the  first-fruits,  carried  into  every 
dwelling,  and  every  harvest-field  and  vineyard,  the  doctrine  of 
a  signal  redemption  and  a  complete  consecration.  "  They  are 
mine,"  said  Jehovah. 

Israel  left  Egypt  in  triumph,  laden  with  the  spoils  of  their 
oppressors.  When  God  announced  to  Abraham  the  future 
enslavement  of  his  posterity,  he  added  this  promise :  "  That 
nation  whom  they  shall  serve  will  I  judge,  and  they  shall  come 
out  with  great  substance."  The  conspicuous  fulfilment  of  this 
promise  was  a  necessity,  both  of  the  faithfulness  of  God,  and 
of  the  dignity  of  the  occasion.  Nothing  could  have  been  more 
inappropriate  as  the  conclusion  of  the  wonders  wrought  in 
Egypt,  nothing  more  unsuitable  to  the  character  of  the  God 
of  Israel,  than  the  escape  of  the  Hebrews  under  the  cover  of  the 
night,  after  the  manner  of  a  gang  of  runaway  slaves.  They 
were  not  a  ragged  and  starving  rabble  of  mendicants  and  mis- 
creants :  they  were  the  heirs  of  a  superb  inheritance  ;  they  were 
a  redeemed  Church,  God's  own  son,  even  his  first-born,  A 
future  of  consummate  glory  was  before  them.  Prophets,  kings, 
and  priests,  not  only,  but  One  in  whom  the  offices  held  by 
prophets  and  priests  were  to  obtain  their  illustrious  consumma- 
tion, were  borne  in  their  loins ;  and  the  whole  company  of  the 
elect,  then  and  thereafter  to  be  born,  were  represented  in  their 
array.  Their  departure  from  Egypt  was  in  keeping  with  their 
position  and  destiny.  "  They  went  out  with  a  high  hand " 
(of  Jehovah)  "in  the  sight  of  the  Egyptians"  (Num.  xxxiii.  3). 
"  They  went  up  harnessed  ;  "  that  is  to  say,  armed  and  in  order 
of  battle.  They  marched  out  of  Egypt  a  victorious,  not  a 
retreating,  host.  Not  only  so,  but  their  sons  and  daughters 
went  out  clothed  with  the  best  spoils  of  war;  "jewels  of  silver, 
and  jewels  of  gold  and  raiment"  (Exod.  iii.  21,  22). 

The  value  of  the  treasures  taken  from  the  Egyptians  may  be 
estimated  from   the   contributions   subsequently  made    by  the 


VALUE   OF  TUE  SPOILS.  475 

Hebrews,  first  to  the  support  of  idolatry,  and  then  to  the  ser- 
vice of  God.  The  calf  worshipped  at  Sinai  was  molten  out 
of  the  golden  earrings  worn  by  the  people.  The  profusion  of 
the  precious  metals  which  were  lavished  upon  the  tabernacle, 
is  set  forth  in  the  twenty-fifth  and  thirty-seventh  chapters  of 
Exodus.  The  foundation  was  of  silver ;  the  walls  were  plated 
without,  and  coupled  together,  with  gold;  the  crown  of  the 
altar  of  incense,  and  of  the  table  of  shew-bread,  together  with 
their  wings  and  bowls,  were  of  gold.  The  mercy-seat  and  the 
overshadowing  cherubim  were  of  beaten  gold.  The  candlestick 
and  its  seven  branches  were  made  of  gold  "  pure  and  beaten," 
of  a  talent,  or  about  eighty  pounds,  in  weight.  Embroidered 
curtains  were  hung  within  and  without  the  sanctuary  ;  rare  and 
precious  jewels  were  set  in  the  breastplate  and  shoulder-strap 
of  the  high  priest ;  and  munificent  gifts  of  gold  and  silver 
vessels  were  offered  by  the  twelve  princes  at  the  dedication 
of  the  sanctuary.  The  value  of  the  gold  and  silver  expended, 
and  the  building  and  appointments  of  the  tabernacle,  are  esti- 
mated b}^  Canon  Cook  at  ^1,165,550,  by  xVrbuthnot  and  Boekh  at 
somewhat  less  that  a  million  dollars,  and  by  Keil  at  about  three- 
quarters  of  a  million  in  our  money.^  The  vast  depreciation 
in  the  value  of  the  precious  metals  since  the  days  of  Moses 
is  to  be  taken  into  the  account.  Dr.  John  remarks  tliat 
their  value  in  the  fourth  century  before  Christ  was  to  their 
value  in  England  in  A.D.  1780  as  ten  to  one.  The  ratio  in 
the  problem,  between  the  sixteenth  century  before  Christ  and 
the  present  time,  must  be  greater.  If  the  estimate  of  one 
million  dollars  be  put  upon  the  treasures  used  in  the  taber- 
nacle, and  if,  furthermore,  that  estimate  be  increased  by  a 
moderate  formula,  representing  the  depreciation  in  the  precious 
metals  during  tlie  lapse  of  thirty-five  centuries,  the  same  total 
will  rise  into  the  millions.  After  all  proper  deductions  are 
made  for  the  contributions  which  the  Hebrews  made  to  the 
tabernacle  out  of  their  own  earnings  in  Egypt,  it  will  remain 
true  that  the  spoils  taken  from  their  oppressors  were  immense, 
and  that  they  were  Avell  applied  to  tlie  service  of  public  worship. 

1  Speak.  Com.  on  Exod.  xxxviii.  31.    Kcil  and  Delitzsch,  Id. 


476  SACRED  HIS  TOE  Y. 

Indeed,  the  tabernacle,  not  invested  with  the  grandeur  of  a 
cathedral,  but  clothed  with  the  beauty  of  a  gem,  stood  for 
live  hundred  years,  first  in  the  wilderness,  and  then  in  Canaan, 
a  monument  of  the  night  in  which  the  fathers  came  out  of 
Egypt  "with  great  substance." 

The  method  by  which  the  Hebrews  obtained  the  spoils  pre- 
sents, so  it  has  been  thought,  a  difficult  problem.  According 
to  the  Authorized  English  Version,  the  Hebrews  "borrowed," 
and  the  Egyptians  "lent,"  their  jewels  and  raiment.  The 
question  of  morals  raised  here  would  be  of  little  importance 
if  it  involved  the  Israelites  alone,  their  virtues  at  the  time 
being  somewhat  shrunken.  But  it  goes  deeper.  The  Almighty 
told  Moses  in  Midian  that  his  people  should  be  set  free,  and 
should  "  borrow "  jewels  and  raiment  from  their  oppressors 
(Exod.  iii.  19-22).  Just  before  the  tenth  plague,  God  com- 
manded them,  through  Mpses,  to  "  borrow  "  of  their  Egyptian 
neighbors  the  property  already  described  (Exod.  xi.  1-3).  On 
their  departure  from  Egypt,  the  Hebrews  "  borrowed,"  and  the 
Egyptians  "  lent "  unto  them,  such  things  as  they  required,  and 
"they  spoiled  the  Egyptians"  (Exod.  xii.  35,  36).  Tliis  trans- 
action has  been  alleged  by  the  sceptics  to  be  an  impeachment 
either  of  the  inspiration  of  the  Pentateuch  or  of  the  righteous- 
ness of  God. 

But  the  difficulty  is  removed  by  the  fact  that  the  Hebrew 
word  sJiahal,  here  translated  "borrow,"  means  primarily,  and 
well-nigh  universally,  to  her/,  to  asJc,  to  demand;  and  the 
Hebrew  word  hisJmil,  here  translated  "  lend,"  means  to  c/ra7it 
a  request,  to  (/ive  lohat  is  ashed.  The  proof  of  this  assertion  is 
ample.  (1)  The  word  shahal  occurs  one  hundred  and  seventy- 
five  times  in  the  Hebrew  Scriptures.  Its  precise  meaning  ap- 
pears in  such  places  as  these  ;  "  Ash  of  me,  and  I  shall  give  thee 
the  heathen  for  thine  inheritance"  (Ps.  ii.  8).  "He  ashed  life 
of  thee,  and  thou  gavest  it  him  "  (Ps.  xxi.  4).  "  One  thing 
have  I  desired  of  the  Lord,  that  will  I  seek  after  "  (Ps.  xxvii. 
4).  "And  God  said  to  him"  (Solomon),  "Because  thou  hast 
ashed  this  thing,  and  hast  not  ashed  for  thyself  long  life,  neither 
hast  ashed  the  life  of  thine  enemies,  but  hast  ashed  for  thyself 


MEANING   OF  "  BOEROWED."  477 

understanding,"  etc.  (1  Kings  iii.  11).  The  use  of  the  word 
"  borrow "  in  these  places  would  introduce  utter  confusion  of 
thought.  (2)  There  are  only  two  places,  out  of  the  one  ]iun- 
dred  and  seventy-five,  in  which  it  can  be  plausibly  affirmed  that 
sliahal  is  correctly  translated  "  borrow  "  :  "  If  a  man  shall  bor- 
row aught  of  his  neighbor "  (Exod.  xxii.  14).  "  Alas,  master ! 
for  it  was  borrowed  "  (2  Kings  vi.  5).  Many  of  our  most  com- 
petent scholars  maintain  that  the  word  in  the  first  of  these 
places  means  to  hire^  and  in  the  last  to  beg.  (3)  The  Hebrew 
expresses  the  idea  of  borrowin<j  and  lending  by  other  specific 
terms.  The  word  most  commonly  used  is  lalivali :  "  Thou  shalt 
lend"'  (lalivaJi)  "to  many  nations,  and  shalt  not  borroiv''''  (Dent, 
xxviii.  12;  conip.  Prov.  xxii.  7.  xix.  17,  Isa.  xxiv.  2).  (4)  The 
word  liishail  is  an  inflection  called  the  Hiphil,  or  cause  form  of 
shahal^  and  takes  its  meaning  therefrom.  It  signifies,  therefore, 
to  give  what  is  asked.  There  is  but  one  other  place  in  the 
Hebrew  Scriptures  where  sliahal  and  hishail  occur  together. 
Hannah  said  of  her  son  Samuel,  "  The  Lord  hath  given  me  my 
petition  which  I  have  asked  of  him :  therefore  I  also  have 
granted  him  to  the  Lord ;  as  long  as  he  liveth  he  is  granted 
to  the  Lord"  (1  Sam.  i.  27,  28).  So  it  stands  in  the  Revised 
Version ;  the  act  of  Hannah  was  not  a  lending,  but  a  lifelonsr 
consecration,  of  her  son  to  the  Lord.  In  the  three  places 
quoted  above  from  the  Book  of  Exodus,  the  Revisers  use  the 
word  ask  instead  of  the  word  borroiu,  and  the  words  let  them 
have  instead  of  the  word  lent.  (5)  It  has  been  already  shown 
that  the  Egyptians  had  thrust  out  the  Hebrews  altogether,  and 
desired  never  to  see  them  again.  That  being  the  case,  the 
borrowing  and  lending  of  jewels  and  raiment  were  out  of  the 
question.  (6)  "The  text,"  Wener  observes  (Exod.  iii.  21), 
"  shows  clearly  enough  that  the  commaml  was  an  act  of  Divine 
retaliation,  a  just  spoliation  of  the  oj)pressors." 

This  judgment  touching  the  nature  of  tlie  transaction  is  con- 
firmed by  the  motives  which  led  the  Egyptians  to  part,  volun- 
tarily, with  their  treasures.  Fii'st,  "the  Lord  gave  tlie  people 
favor  in  the  sight  of  the  Egyptians,  so  that  they  let  tliem  have 
what  they  asked  "  (Exod.  xii.  3G).     Next,  the  commanding  in- 


478  SACRED  HISTORY. 

fluence  of  Moses  among  the  Egyptians  is  assigned  as  a  leading 
inducement  with  them  in  the  transaction  (Exod.  xi.  3}.  More- 
over, the  asking  and  giving  occurred  when  the  first-born  were 
destroyed.  The  wailing  and  terrified  Egyptians  rose  up  in  a 
body ;  and  "  they  were  urgent  upon  the  people,  that  they  might 
send  them  out  of  the  land  in  haste,  for  they  said.  We  be  all 
dead  men."  Their  cry  might  well  be  :  "  Go  away  quickly ;  take 
bracelets  and  rings  and  vessels  of  gold,  take  raiment,  take  what 
you  will,  take  every  thing,  and  go  at  once ;  we  are  all  dead 
men  ;  begone  !  begone  !  "  They  went  forth  not  as  borrowers 
abusing  the  confidence  of  their  former  masters,  but  as  con- 
querors laden  with  the  spoils  of  war.  They  took  the  jewels  of 
silver  and  jewels  of  gold,  and  raiment,  and  put  them  upon  their 
daughters,  and  marched  away  in  brilliant  and  festal  procession. 
The  literature  of  this  inquiry  conveys  several  useful  lessons. 
The  erroneous  translation  of  sliahal  appeared  first  in  the  Sep- 
tuagint ;  thence  it  passed  into  the  Latin  version  of  Jerome,  was 
adopted  by  the  Vulgate,  and  crept  into  the  English  text.  The 
Latin  Fathers,  and  the  theologians  of  the  Middle  Ages  and  of 
the  Reformation,  neglecting  the  Hebrew  text,  received  without 
debate  the  mistranslation,  and  dealt  with  the  terms  "borrowing" 
and  "lending"  as  best  they  could.  Resort  was  had,  by  some 
of  the  most  eminent  of  them,  to  the  doctrine  of  Divine  sove- 
reignty. Augustine  contended  that  the  command  of  God  ought 
to  be  obeyed,  not  canvassed,  and  that  the  gold  and  silver  which 
had  been  used  in  idolatrous  worship  were,  by  command  of  God, 
applied  to  the  building  of  the  tabernacle.  Calvin  said  that  the 
judgment  of  God  should  not  be  weighed  by  ordinary  rules,  be- 
cause the  wealth  of  the  world  belongs  to  him,  and  may  be  dis- 
tributed according  to  his  good  pleasure.  Pfeiffer  held  that  the 
Israelites  borrowed  the  property  with  the  intention  of  restoring 
it,  and  were  directed  by  the  Almighty  to  retain  it.  But  the 
question  is  not  whether  the  ultimate  ownership  of  property  is 
in  the  Almighty,  with  right  of  distribution,  but  whether  we  are 
taught  that  God  commanded  the  Hebrews  to  secure  its  transfer 
to  themselves  by  an  act  of  fraudulent  borrowing.  Tertullian 
and  Grotius  found  satisfaction  in  the  rule  of  reprisals,  arguing 


now  TO   SOLVE  DIFFICULTIES.  479 

* 

that  the  Hebrews  were  justified  in  repaying  themselves  for  their 
life-long  and  unrequited  labors.  But  if  a  man  is  robbed,  may 
he  rob  back  ?  Justin  thinks  that  they  took  away  the  treasures 
in  exchange  for  the  fixed  property  which  they  left  behind  them. 
But  the  record  shows  that  it  was  a  matter  of  asking  and  receiv- 
ing, not  of  bargain  and  sale.  Michaelis'  explanation  proceeds 
from  the  bad  faith  of  the  Egyptians.  He  suggests  that  the 
jewels  were  golden  and  silver  bowls,  and  that  the  Hebrews 
borrowed  them  for  the  proposed  festival  in  the  wilderness; 
that  they  expected  to  return  to  Egypt,  but  the  pursuit  which 
Pharaoh  set  on  foot  in  violation  of  his  agreement  released  them 
from  all  obligations.  To  this  the  reply  is,  that  in  point  of  fact 
the  Israelites  did  not  intend  to  go  back,  nor  did  the  Egyptians 
expect  or  desire  them  to  return.  Nor  is  the  theory  more  ten- 
able which  assumes  that  the  Hebrews  became  at  the  exodus  an 
independent  nation,  that  the  Egyptians  made  a  wicked  war 
upon  them,  absolving  them  from  their  obligations  as  borrowers , 
for  it  is  a  kind  of  knavery  for  men  to  repudiate  in  war,  debts 
which  have  been,  in  good  faith,  contracted  in  time  of  peace,  and 
it  is  a  kind  of  atheism  to  charge  the  Almighty  with  connivance 
at  such  practices.^ 

The  practical  lessons  which  maj-  be  drawn  from  this  curious 
history  of  opinions  are  such  as  these :  The  difficulties  in  the 
word  of  God,  which  have  for  ages  baffled  the  best  interpreters, 
may  at  any  time  be  solved  by  some  simple  circumstance  which 
has  been  overlooked,  and  the  solution  will  be  complete ;  a  blun- 
der may  lurk  in  the  translation,  and  yet  be  conspicuously  absent 
from  the  Hebrew  and  Greek  texts  which  were  immediately  in- 
spired of  God ;  in  dealing  with  outstanding  problems,  we  should 
patiently  wait  for  further  light,  meanwhile  searching  the  Scrip- 
tures; and  finally,  in  the  presence  of  unsettled  questions,  it  is 
far  safer  to  confess  our  ignorance,  than  to  resort  to  solutions 
which  are  frivolous  and  inconsistent  with  the  principles  of 
immutable  and  eternal  morality  and  with  the  righteousness 
of  God. 

1  Kurtz:  Old  Gov.,  vol.  ii.  pp.  310-328. 


480  SACRED  HISTORY. 


CHAPTER  XXXIII. 

HOREB   AND   THE  LAW. 

The  Hebrews  might  have  reached  the  promised  land  in  forty 
days,  going  by  way  of  the  south  shore  of  the  Mediterranean 
Sea,  thence  to  Gaza  and  Hebron,  the  distance  being  less  than 
two  hundred  and  fifty  miles.  Napoleon  marched  his  army 
from  Cairo  to  El  Arish,  about  one  hundred  and  fifty  miles,  in 
less  than  six  days.  Tliis  near  route  was  closed  to  the  Hebrews 
by  the  hostility  of  the  Philistines  who  dwelt  about  Gaza. 
"  God  led  them  not  through  the  land  of  the  Philistines, 
although  that  was  near ;  for  God  said.  Lest  peradventure  the 
people  repent  when  they  see  war,  and  they  return  to  Egypt" 
(Exod.  xiii.  17).  It  was,  moreover,  the  purpose  of  God  to 
assemble  the  people  at  Horeb,  that  they  might  receive  his  law. 
From  Horeb  two  routes  were  open  to  them.  One  of  these  lay 
by  Mount  Seir  to  Kadesh-barnea,  a  journey  ordinarily  made  in 
eleven  days  (Deut.  1.  2)  ;  this  way  was  chosen  by  Moses,  on  his 
departure  from  Horeb.  The  other  led  to  the  head  of  the  Gulf 
of  Akabah,  thence  to  the  eastern  border  of  the  Dead  Sea,  to 
the  plains  of  Moab,  and  to  the  fords  of  the  Jordan.  This 
route  was  finally  taken  by  Moses.  The  procession  which  con- 
veyed the  remains  of  Jacob  to  Hebron,  and,  in  due  time,  the 
hosts  of  Israel,  passed  this  way.  Although  the  journey  of  a 
few  months  might  have  brought  them  to  their  new  home,  yet, 
in  punishment  of  their  ignominious  revolt  at  Kadesh,  in  the 
matter  of  the  spies,  the  Lord  turned  back  the  congregation  into 
the  wilderness  thirty-eight  years;  forty  years  in  all  after  the 
exodus.  Now,  it  is  not  difficult  to  ascertain  the  ends  that  were 
answered  by  this  long  wandering. 


FORTY   YEARS    WELL   SPENT.  481 

First,  time  Avas  given  for  the  old  and  wayward  race  to  pass 
from  life,  and  give  place  to  a  better  generation.  While  tlie 
Hebrews  were  waiting  to  cross  the  Red  Sea,  they  were  so  much 
frightened  by  Pharaoh's  advance  upon  them  as  to  cry  out, 
"  Let  us  alone  that  we  may  serve  the  Egyptians."  After  the 
passage  of  the  sea;  at  Marah,  because  the  water  was  bitter; 
in  the  Wilderness  of  Sin,  because  the  people  were  hungry;  at 
Rephidim,  because  they  were  thirsty,  —  they  taunted  Moses, 
and  tempted  Jehovah  with  their  niurmurings.  At  Horeb  they 
danced  to  the  music  of  calf-worship.  Beyond  Horeb  one  of 
their  camping-grounds  took  the  name  first  of  Binning,  and 
then  the  Graves  of  Lust.  The  fire  that  burned  among  them, 
and  the  pestilence  that  filled  the  graves,  were  sent  by  Jeliovah 
in  punishment  of  their  insolence.  Finally,  at  Kadesh,  their 
unbelief  and  cowardice  made  up  a  problem  which  admitted  of 
only  one  solution.  That  was  expressed  by  the  Almighty : 
"  Your  carcasses  shall  fall  in  this  wilderness  .  .  .  from  twenty 
years  old  and  upward"  (Num.  xiv.  29).  Forty  years  afforded 
time  for  tlie  execution  of  this  sentence,  and  for  the  rearing  of 
a  resolute  and  godly  race  in  the  persons  of  the  children.  The 
younger  men  escaped  the  imbecility  begotten  in  their  fathers 
by  servitude  in  Egypt ,  they  were  inured  to  hardship  in  the 
desert ;  they  were  trained  to  warlike  habits  by  their  conflicts 
with  the  Bedouins,  who  harassed  their  march,  —  a  discipline 
which  prepared  them  for  the  wars  of  the  conquest.  More- 
over, they  were  alone  with  Jehovah.  They  saw  his  mighty 
works.  He  walked  with  them  in  the  pillar  of  cloud,  he  fed 
them  with  manna,  and  gave  them  water  out  of  the  sweet- 
ened fountain  and  smitten  rock.  The  discipline  was  effect- 
ual. Never  in  the  history  of  the  world  has  a  change  so 
radical  been  wrought  upon  a  people  in  forty  years :  never  did 
two  successive  generations  contrast  each  other  more  thoroughly 
than  the  sons  who  crossed  the  Jordan,  and  the  fathers  who 
crossed  the  Red  Sea.  The  fathers  were,  for  tlie  most  part,  in 
hopeless  apostasy :  the  sons  made  up  perhaps  the  purest  of  all 
the  generations  of  Israel  from  Abraham  to  Christ  (Josh.  xxiv. 
14-31 ;  Jer.  ii.  2,  3). 


482  S ACHED   UISTOBY. 

It  entered,  secondly,  into  the  plan  of  Providence,  to  affi^rd 
to  the  Israelites  time  and  opportunity  for  education  in  the  law 
given  from  Sinai.  That  was  a  comprehensive  and  compact 
code,  both  civil  and  ecclesiastical.  Such  are  its  supreme  merits, 
that  to  the  question,  "Where  did  Moses  get  that  law?"  no 
sufficient  answer  has  been  returned  which  does  not  recognize 
the  all-wise  God  as  its  Author,  and  Moses  as  its  divinely  inspired 
mediator  and  recorder.  The  ceremonial  institutes  are  both 
complete  and  complicated.  Complete  they  are,  because  they 
provide  for  the  four  parts  of  worship,  the  sanctuary,  the  priest- 
hood, the  ritual,  and  the  calendar ;  prescribing,  that  is  to  say, 
the  place,  the  officers,  the  forms,  and  the  times  of  Divine  wor- 
ship. They  are  complicated.  Many  of  those  who  read  cursorily 
the  ceremonial  law  find  it  wearisome,  and  not  a  few  of  those 
who  profess  to  have  investigated  the  system  have  failed  to 
master  its  intricacies.  But  it  was  indispensable  that  the 
Hebrews  should  thoroughly  understand  the  ritual  before  they 
came  to  the  promised  land.  These  ordinances  were  to  be 
established  in  Canaan,  and  religiously  observed.  They  were 
jto  express  for  fifteen  hundred  years  the  devout  affections  of 
the  people,  and  were  to  lead  up  to  Christ,  of  whom  they  were 
typical.  It  was  needful,  therefore,  that  the  people  be  thoroughly 
educated  into  the  law.  The  wilderness  afforded  the  facilities 
for  that  education.  The  Hebrews  were  alone  with  Jehovah  in 
the  awful  solitude  of  the  desert.  During  thirty-eight  years, 
being  miraculously  fed  and  clothed,  they  had  little  else  to  do 
than  to  study  the  law,  and  attend  on  the  solemnities  of  public 
worship.  The  tabernacle  was  pitched  in  the  centre  of  the 
encampment;  the  brazen  altar  and  the  laver  stood  in  open 
sight.  The  tribes  witnessed  the  order  of  the  ceremonial,  —  the 
service  of  the  priesthood,  the  shedding  of  blood,  the  unquenched 
fire  on  the  altar,  and  the  smoke  of  the  victims  ascending  night 
and  day.  Moses  and  Aaron,  through  whom  the  law  was  given, 
were  their  teachers,  able  to  expound  the  sacred  mysteries ;  and 
Jehovah  himself  answered  out  of  the  cloud  the  prayer  of  Moses 
and  the  elders  seeking  further  knowledge  of  his  will.  This 
grand  school  of  instruction  yielded  two  results.     The  people 


OTHER    PEOPLES  LOOKING   ON.  483 

were  taught  in  lioly  things;  and  the  conviction  was  wrought 
within  them,  that  they  were  the  chosen  people  of  God,  and  that 
they  should  enter  the  chosen  land.  These  impressions  were 
renewed  in  thein  day  l)y  day,  as  they  exjDerienced  the  mercy  of 
God.  "He  was  their  Saviour.  In  all  their  affliction  he  was 
afflicted,  and  the  angel  of  his  presence  saved  them.  In  his 
love  and  in  his  pity  he  redeemed  them,  and  he  bare  them  and 
carried  them  all  the  days  of  old  "  (Isa.  Ixiii.  8,  9). 

Thirdly,  the  heathen  were  not  overlooked  in  the  providential 
design  of  the  wandering.  The  Bedouin  tribes,  through  the 
borders  of  which  the  Hebrews  passed,  saw  the  wonders  in  the 
desert.  The  daily  miracle  of  the  manna  was  wrought  in  tlieir 
presence ;  and  they  beheld,  near  at  hand  or  afar  off,  the  pillar 
of  cloud  and  of  fire.  The  profound  impression  of  the  majesty 
of  the  true  God,  received  by  the  heathen  through  the  broad 
desert  of  Arabia,  was  foreshown  in  the  song  of  Moses  at  the 
Red  Sea :  "  The  people  shall  hear  and  be  afraid ;  sorrow  shall 
take  hold  on  the  inhabitants  of  Palestine.  Then  the  dukes  of 
Edom  shall  be  amazed ;  the  mighty  men  of  Moab,  trembling 
shall  take  hold  upon  them ;  all  the  inhabitants  of  Canaan  shall 
melt  away.  Fear  and  dread  shall  fall  upon  them  "  (Exod.  xv. 
14-17).  Jethro,  when  he  saw  the  hosts  from  Egypt,  said, 
"  Now  I  know  that  the  Lord  is  greater  than  all  gods."  Balaam 
also  confessed  that  God  had  brought  the  Israelites  out  of 
Egypt.  "  He  hath  as  it  were  the  strength  of  the  unicorn." 
The  tidings  from  the  wilderness  went  far  in  advance  of  the 
people  into  the  land  of  Canaan.  Rahab  of  Jericho  said  to 
the  spies,  "We  have  heard  how  Jehovah  dried  up  the  water 
of  the  Red  Sea  for  you  when  you  came  out  of  Egypt.  .  .  .  And 
as  soon  as  we  heard  these  things  our  hearts  did  melt,  neither 
did  there  remain  any  more  courage  in  any  man,  because  of 
you ;  for  the  Lord  your  God  he  is  God  in  heaven  above  and 
in  earth  beneath"  (Josh.  ii.  10,  11).  Joshua  himself  declared 
that  the  sea  and  the  Jordan  had  been  dried  up  "  that  all  the 
people  of  the  earth  might  know  the  hand  of  the  Lord  that  it 
is  mighty"  (Josh.  iv.  24,  v.  1).  It  is  worthy  of  notice,  that, 
although  the  Old-Testament  Church  sent  no  missions   to   the 


484  SACRED  HISTOBY. 

heathen,  the  Church  itself  dwelt  for  a  time  in  pagan  Egypt  and 
Moab  and  Babylon. 

The  spiritual  discipline  of  the  people,  and  their  preservation 
through  the  wandering,  were  secured  by  certain  mighty  acts 
of  God,  which  may  be  called  the  wonders  in  the  wilderness. 
These  began  at  the  Red  Sea.  The  place  at  which  the  sea  was 
crossed  has  not  been  satisfactorily  ascertained.  The  record 
shows  that  from  Rameses,  which  was  the  starting-point,  they 
went  to  Succoth,  thence  to  Etham,  thence  they  turned  and 
encamped  before  Pi-hahiroth  between  Migdol  and  the  sea,  over 
against  Baal-zephon.  Not  one  of  these  localities  has  been 
satisfactorily  identified ;  with  the  possible  exception  of  Succoth, 
which  is  thought  to  be  Pithom  the  recently  discovered  "  treasure- 
city."  The  subject  is  still  further  embarrassed  by  our  unavoid- 
able ignorance  resiDccting  the  changes  which  sand-storms  and 
other  disturbances  have  wrought  in  the  shoals  and  shores  of 
the  sea,  during  the  last  thirty-five  hundred  years.  It  is  believed, 
for  example,  by  many  Egyptologists,  that  the  Gulf  of  Suez 
formerly  extended  far  to  the  north  of  its  present  shore,  embra- 
cing the  shallows  now  known  as  the  Bitter  Lakes. 

With  these  uncertain  elements  before  them,  the  authorities 
have  differed  widely  in  regard  to  the  place  where  the  passage 
of  the  sea  was  effected.  Brugsch  found  it  at  the  Serbonian 
bog  of  antiquity,  a  miry  lake  lying  along  the  Mediterranean 
between  Egypt  and  Palestine, — 

"  that  Serbonian  bog 
Betwixt  Daniiata  and  Mount  Casius  old, 
Where  armies  whole  have  sunk."  ^ 

Reginald  S.  Pool  and  Hitsig  judge  that  the  evidence  points  to 
the  Bitter  Lakes,  thirty  miles  or  more  north  of  the  Gulf  of 
Suez,  as  the  scene  of  the  wonder.  Edward  Robinson,  Kurtz, 
Canon  Cook,  Geikie,  and  Kalisch,  some  of  whom  have  visited 
the  region,  designate  the  shoals  near  the  present  head  of  the 
Gulf  at  Suez  as  the  place  which  best  meets  the  conditions  of 
the  problem.     If  the  question  could  be  settled  by  the  weight 

1  Paradise  Lost,  ii.  293. 


PASSAGE   OF  THE  BED   SEA.  485 

of  autliority,  we  niight  be  led  to  believe  that  the  sea  was  opened 
at  Ras  Atakah,  about  six  miles  south  of  Suez.  The  names  of 
nearly  twenty  reputable  travellers  and  historians  are  quoted 
in  support  of  this  conclusion.  Dr.  James  Strong,  who  has 
carefully  investigated  the  subject  upon  the  spot,  is  led  Ijy 
diligent  inquiry  to  say,  "Among  the  localities  named,  the 
choice  really  lies  between  Suez  and  Ras  Atakah;  and  of  these 
we  decidedly  prefer  the  latter."  ^  Most  of  his  readers  will 
probably  rest  in  that  opinion  pending  the  discoveries  that  may 
come  to  us  in  the  near  future.  The  Exploration  Company  of 
Egypt  in  the  year  1883  discovered  Pithom,  one  of  "  the  treasure- 
cities"  built  by  the  Israelites,  in  a  ruin  a  few  miles  only  from 
the  modern  Ismailia.  The  company  noAv  propose  to  excavate 
the  vast  mounds  at  San,  the  Zoan  of  i\\Q  Scriptures,  and  the 
Tanis  of  the  Greeks,  the  birthplace  peradventure  of  IMoses, 
and  without  peradventure  the  place  where  God  did  "marvellous 
things  "  and  "•  wonders,"  "  in  the  sight  of  the  fathers  "  (Ps. 
Ixxviii.  12,  43).  An  expedition  also  from  ]\Iarseilles  "proposes  to 
drag  the  Red  Sea  and  the  Bitter  Lakes  in  hope  of  finding  some 
remains  of  Pharaoh's  army,  particularly  jewels  and  gems,  which 
are  su})posed  to  be  imperishable."  ^  We  shall  be  encouraged  to 
await  with  patience  the  fruits  of  those  labors,  by  bearing  in 
mind  that  the  important  feature  in  the  catastrophe  is  not  the 
exact  place  where  it  occurred,  b^it  the  supernatural  agenc}'  by 
which  it  was  brought  about.  The  naturalists  have  endeavored 
to  reduce  the  event  to  the  ordinary  competency  of  the  wind 
and  tide.  They  begin  by  assuming  that  it  took  place  at  the 
head  of  the  Gulf  near  Suez.  They  take  for  granted  that  the  sea 
at  that  point  was  as  narrow  then  as  it  is  now,  and  that  the 
broad  shoals  were  at  that  time,  as  now,  left  bare  at  the  ebl) 
tide.  These  have  been  forded,  occasionally,  by  caravans;  nota- 
bly by  Niebuhr  in  1 702,  and  in  1779  by  Napoleon  Bonaparte 
and  his  staff,  where  he  made  a  narrow  escape  with  his  life. 
By  assuming  that  the  tide  was  out,  that  the  shoals  were  bare, 
that  the  Hebrews  took  advantage  of  the  "  strong  east  wind " 

1  ISIcClintock  ;iii<l  Strong.  Cyclopncdia,  art.  "Red  Sea  — Passage  of." 

2  Dr.  A.  H.  Kellogg  iu  I'lesby.  Ilev.,  October,  IStiJ. 


486  SACRED  HISTOEY. 

described  by  Moses,  tliese  critics  i:)rofess  to  solve  the  problem 
without  the  help  of  any  Divine  interposition.  They  might  as 
well  cut  the  knot  by  assigning  the  Pentateuch  and  the  destruc- 
tion of  Pharaoh  to  a  place  in  legendary  literature,  side  by  side 
Avith  the  ^Eneid  and  the  drowning  of  Palinurus. 

The  record  shows  that  the  wonders  in  the  wilderness  were 
in  continuation  of  the  wonders  in  Egypt.  Several  of  the 
plagues  were  introduced  and  then  removed  b}^  the  rod  of 
jSIoses ;  in  the  eighth  plague,  the  Almighty  brought  the  locusts 
upon  Egypt  by  an  east  wind,  and  he  drove  them  away  by  a 
mighty,  strong  west  wind.  In  like  manner,  at  the  Red  Sea  the 
waters  were  first  divided  at  the  signal  of  the  outstretched  arm 
of  Moses,  and  Jehovah  caused  the  sea  to  go  back  by  an  east 
wind.  Both  in  Egypt  iind  in  the  wilderness,  it  pleased  God  to 
execute  his  purposes  sometimes  by  a  supernatural  use  of  the 
laws  of  nature,  even  by  a  veritable  miracle.  The  winds  and 
the  waves  came  and  went  at  the  Divine  command  ;  the  sea  stood 
up  as  a  solid  wall  on  the  right  and  the  left  of  the  Hebrews  ; 
the  pillar  of  cloud  and  fire  gave  light  to  the  Israelites,  and 
left  the  Egyptians  in  darkness ;  the  people  of  God  passed  over 
on  dry  land,  the  Egyptians  were  drowned.  It  is  impossible  to 
torture  the  supernatural  out  of  these  facts.  Moreover,  the 
sacred  writers  treat  the  dividing  of  the  sea  as  an  unquestion- 
able manifestation  of  omnipotence.  Moses  and  the  children  of 
Israel,  in  their  songs  of  triumph,  use  language  which  exceeds 
the  bounds  of  even  poetical  license  if  it  describes  nothing  other 
than  an  ebb-tide,  an  easterly  wind,  the  retreat  of  the  waters 
from  the  shoals,  and  then  the  return  of  the  tide,  the  lulling  of 
the  winds,  and  the  drowning  of  those  who  were  caught  beyond 
their  depth  (Exod.  xv.  4-12).  Joshua  treats  the  parting  of 
the  Jordan  and  the  sea  as  miracles  of  the  same  kind  (Josh.  iv. 
23).  David  and  Asaph  and  Isaiah  speak  of  the  event  as  one 
of  the  "  terrible  doings  "  of  God ;  they  celebrate  the  "  strength 
by  which  he  divided  the  sea,"  and  made  the  waters  to  "stand  up 
as  a  heap,"  "  dividing  the  water  before  his  people  "  (Ps.  Ixxiv. 
13,  Ixxviii.  13 ;  Isa.  Ixiii.  12).  Either  Moses  exaggerates  the 
facts,  or  both  poet  and  prophet  overdraw  the  picture. 


THEOPHANY  IN  FIRE  AND   CLOUD.  487 

The  second  wonder  was  a  theophany.  On  the  arrival  of  the 
Israelites  at  Ethom,  on  the  edge  of  the  desert,  a  jjillar  of  cloud 
and  of  fire  appeared  in  their  encampment,  and  accompanied 
them  through  their  journey  to  the  land  of  promise  (Exod.  xiii. 
21,  22 ;  Xeh.  ix.  19).  The  phenomenon  assumed  the  form  of 
a  lofty  column  hovering  in  mid-air,  its  base  approacliing,  per- 
haps touching,  the  earth,  the  cloudy  pillar  not  disturbed  by  the 
heat  of  the  sun  or  by  wind-storms,  and  resembling  a  distant 
conflagration,  or  the  torch  of  a  volcano,  opaque  by  day,  lumi- 
nous by  night.  The  cloud .  at  its  summit  expanded  like  a 
canopy,  protecting  the  Hebrews  from  the  burning  sun  (Ps.  cv. 
39).  The  breadth  of  the  canopy  may  be  computed  by  the 
broad  space,  several  miles  square,  which  was  occupied  by  the 
tribes  and  their  flocks. 

The  pillar  was  the  dwelling-place  of  Jehovah.  "  The  Lord 
went  before  them  by  day  in  a  pillar  of  cloud,  and  by  night  in 
a  pillar  of  fire  "  (Exod.  xiii.  21).  It  was  a  true  theophany,  and 
it  followed  the  law  of  progress  according  to  which  the  self- 
revelations  of  God  proceeded ;  the  smoking  furnace  in  the . 
vision  of  Abraham  became  a  burning  bush  in  Horeb,  and  now 
a  flaming  fire,  traversing  the  wilderness  with  undimmed  majesty 
for  the  period  of  forty  years.  God  revealed  his  presence  herein, 
says  Sartorius,  "not  by  causing  the  light  of  his  countenance, 
which  is  unapproachable,  to  burst  forth  unveiled,  but  by  his 
weaving  out  of  the  natural  element  a  holy,  transparent  veil, 
which,  like  the  fiery  cloud,  both  shines  and  throws  a  shade, 
veils  and  unveils  ;  so  that  it  is  equally  true  that  God  dwells  in 
light,  and  that  he  dwells  in  darkness  (2  Chron.  vi.  1 ;  1  Tim. 
vi.  16),  as  true  that  he  can  be  found,  as  that  he  must  be  always 
sought."  ^ 

While  the 'leading  design  of  tlie  pillar  was  to  reveal  Jehovah 
to  the  senses  of  the  people,  by  an  open  and  perpetual  vision  of 
his  majesty,  it  served  other  important  purposes.  (1)  It  has 
been  already  intimated  that  the  cloud  shielded  the  people 
from  the  fierce  rays  of  the  sun.  (2)  The  motion  of  the  cloud 
srave  direction  to  their  iournev.     The  desert  was  like  the  wild 

1  Keil  au'J  Delitzsch,  on  Pout.  ii.  42,  uotcs. 


488  S  ACHED  Til  STOUT. 

prairies  of  Western  America,  like  the  surface  of  the  sea :  paths 
and  highways  there  were  none.  The  Greek  and  Persian  armies 
used  smoke  and  fire  as  signals  of  their  marches.  Alexander 
guided  his  army  by  torches  lifted  high  in  the  advance,  indicat- 
ing the  route  in  the  day  by  the  smoke,  and  at  night  by  the 
flame.  Even  so  "Jehovah  went  before  Israel  in  a  pillar  of 
cloud,  to  lead  them  by  the  way,  and  by  night  in  a  pillar  of  fire, 
to  give  them  light ;  to  go  by  day  and  niglit."  (3)  The  people 
in  the  distant  wings  of  the  camp,  or  in  the  rear,  or  going  aside 
to  find  pastures  for  their  flocks,  needed  a  signal  showing  the 
location  of  the  tabernacle :  this  signal  they  had  in  the  cloud 
visible  from  afar.  (4)  The  movements  of  the  wandering  Israel- 
ites were  controlled  by  the  same  phenomenon.  In  the  place 
where  the  cloud  stood  still,  they  pitched  their  tents ;  so  long 
as  the  cloud  abode  in  any  place,  there  they  rested;  and  when 
it  was  taken  up,  whether  by  night  or  by  day,  they  struck  their 
tents  and  fell  into  the  line  of  march.  (5)  The  holy  oracle  was 
established  within  its  folds.  "  He  spake  unto  them  in  the 
cloudy  pillar  "  (Ps.  xcix.  7).  At  the  giving  of  the  law  the  vis- 
ion arose  and  stood  on  the  summit  of  Horeb,  and  Jehovah  gave 
his  law  to  Moses  in  the  midst  of  the  cloud.  When  the  taber- 
nacle was  set  up  for  the  first  time  on  the  adjacent  plain,  the 
cloudy  pillar  descended  and  stood  at  the  door  of  the  tabernacle, 
and  Jehovah  talked  with  Moses  (xxxiii.  9-11).  He  appeared 
in  the  cloud  to  bestow  on  the  seventy  elders  the  spirit  of  Moses ; 
and  as  the  day  drew  near  on  which  Moses  was  to  die,  the  Lord 
spake  with  Joshua  and  Moses  from  the  midst  of  the  cloud 
(Num.  xi.  25 ;  Deut.  xxxi.  15).  (G)  That  nothing  might  be 
wanting  to  the  majesty  of  the  Shechinah,  the  Almighty  made 
it  his  throne  of  judgment.  From  its  bosom  the  Divine  wrath 
flashed  forth  upon  the  Egyptians  in  the  midst  of  the  Red  Sea. 
When  Miriam,  and,  at  her  instigation,  Aaron,  became  seditious, 
the  Lord  called  them  into  the  bosom  of  the  cloud,  and  rebuked 
them ;  "  and  behold  Miriam  became  leprous,  white  as  snow." 
Fire  went  out  from  the  Lord,  and  devoured  Nadab  and  Abihu, 
wlio  had  put  "strange  fire"  into  their  censers;  and  in  the 
rebellion  of  Korah  and  his  company,  fire  came  out  again  and 


DELIVER A:SCE  AND   SUPPLIES.  489 

consumed  two  liiuidred  of  the  conspirators.  Forty  years  long 
this  "  glory  "  stood  hi  the  sight  of  Israel ;  at  once  a  revelation 
and  presence-chamber  of  Jehovah;  a  guide  and  an  advanced 
guard ,  a  canopy  by  day,  and  a  torch  by  night ;  a  holy  oracle, 
and  a  judgment-seat.  When  the  Hebrews  reached  the  borders 
of  Canaan,  it  was  taken  up,  and  in  the  after  ages  it  was  rarely 
seen.  At  the  dedication  of  Solomon's  Temple,  "  the  house  was 
filled  with  a  cloud,  even  the  house  of  the  Lord ;  so  that  tlie 
priests  could  not  stand  to  minister  by  reason  of  the  cloud :  for 
the  glory  of  tlie  Lord  had  fdled  the  liouse  of  God  "  (2  Chron. 
V.  14).  Ezekiel  also,  in  vision,  saw  the  "brightness  of  the 
Lord's  glory  lilling  the  temple "  (Ezek.  x.  4) ;  and  thence 
going  up  and  standing  upon  the  mountain  east  of  the  city 
(xi.  23).  The  same  theophany  was  a  conspicuous  factor  in  the 
miracle  at  the  Red  Sea.  The  historian  tells  us  how  the  Hebrews 
were  led  by  Divine  guidance  to  tlie  sea  •  liow  they  were  sliut 
in  between  the  deep  waters  and  the  entanglements  of  the  wil- 
derness ;  how  bitterly  the}'  reproached  Moses  for  bringing  them 
to  die  into  the  wilderness,  as  if  there  were  no  graves  in  Egj-pt ; 
how  calmly  Moses  urged  them  to  stand  still  and  see  the  salva- 
tion of  Jehovah ;  liow  they  went  through  the  sea  on  dry  land  ; 
how  the  pillar  of  cloud  took  its  position  between  them  and  their 
pursuers,  giving  light  to  the  former  and  benighting  the  latter ; 
and  how  "the  Lord  saved  Israel  that  day  out  of  the  hand  of  the 
Egyptians,  and  Israel  saw  the  Egyptians  dead  on  the  seashore." 
Among  the  wonders  in  the  wiklei'iiess,  not  the  least  conspicu- 
ous are  those  by  which  the  daily  wants  of  the  Israelites  were 
supplied.  The  extent  to  which  these  supplies  were  derived 
from  natural  sources  should  be  recognized.  First  of  all,  the 
people  took  with  them  from  Egypt  great  ilocks  and  herds 
(Num.  xi.  22)  ;  and  there  is  reason  to  believe  that  through 
the  whole  period  of  the  wandering  the  people  were  largely 
furnished  by  their  sheep  and  goats  with  milk  and  flesh  for 
food,  and  hair,  wool,  and  leather  for  clothing.  Next,  the  natu- 
ral resources  of  the  \\ildi'rness  are  to  be  taken  into  account. 
At  the  beginning  of  their  journey,  the  Hebrews  encamped  many 
days  at  the  waters  and  [)alm-trees  of  Elim.     During  their  stay 


490  SACRED  HISTORY. 

near  Sinai  it  is  right  to  imagine  that  Moses  did  not  fail  to  use 
for  the  advantage  of  his  people  the  acquaintance  which  he  had 
formed,  when  in  Jethro's  service,  with  the  pastures  and  water- 
springs  and  wells  of  Horeb.  Towards  the  close  of  the  wander- 
ing the  Israelites  purchased  food  and  water  from  their  remote 
kinsmen,  the  sons  of  Esau  (Deut.  ii.  6,  7).  It  should  also  be 
said  that  the  fertility,  wealth,  and  jjopulation  of  the  peninsula 
were  in  ancient  times  far  greater  than  they  now  are.  Accord- 
ing to  Ritter,  the  "  traces  of  a  more  thorough  cultivation  of  the 
soil  reveal  themselves  in  the  period  of  the  ancient  Egyptians 
by  their  mining  operations  and  settlements,  and  in  the  Christian 
period  by  episcopal  foundations,  and  the  remains  which  are 
scattered  everywhere  of  cloisters,  hermitages,  gardens,  fields, 
and  wells."  A-  comparison  between  the  population  of  the 
region  in  ancient  and  in  modern  times  leads  to  the  same  con- 
clusion. At  the  period  of  the  wandering,  the  Amalekites  alone 
were  sufficiently  numerous  to  make  open  war  on  Israel;  and 
five  hundred  years  later,  Saul  thought  it  necessary  to  despatch 
an  army  of  two  hundred  and  ten  thousand  in  order  to  subdue 
this  single  tribe.  But  at  present  not  more  than  six  thousand 
Bedouins  with  their  flocks  are  supported  by  the  reluctant  soil 
of  the  entire  peninsula.  Still  more  remarkable  are  the  forces 
which  have  turned  the  once-luxuriant  region  of  Petra  into  a 
desert  waste,  and  have  left  without  inhabitant  a  city  sufficiently 
populous  in  its  best  days  to  muster  an  army  eight  thousand 
strong,  and  to  support  a  theatre  accommodating  three  thousand 
spectators.  The  cavises  which  have  laid  waste  the  peninsula 
are  well  known.  The  winds  have  covered  the  soil  with  sand; 
floods  have  denuded  the  hills ;  fires  have  consumed  the  shrubs 
and  the  trees ;  the  idleness  and  the  recklessness  of  the  barbarians 
have  destroyed  what  has  been  spared  by  the  wind,  flood,  and 
fire.  And  yet,  after  every  allowance  has  been  made  for  the 
progressive  desolation  of  Arabia  through  the  period  of  thirty- 
five  centuries,  it  must  be  said  that  the  peninsula,  at  the  exodus, 
was  well  described  as  "  a  waste,  howling  wilderness,  a  land  of 
deserts  and  pits,  a  land  of  drought  and  the  shadow  of  death ; " 
"that  great  and  terrible  wilderness  wherein   there  were  scor- 


THE  QUAILS  AND   THE  MANNA.  491 

pions  and  drought,  where  there  were  no  waters  ; "  "a  land  thaC 
no  man  passed  through,  and  where  no  man  dwelt"  (Deut.  viii. 
15,  xxxii.  10;  Jer.  ii.  G). 

ExoD.  xvi.  —  About  thirty  days  after  the  exodus,  the  supply 
of  food  which  the  Israelites  had  brought  from  Egypt  was  ex- 
hausted. Moreover,  the  people  were  encamped  in  the  Wilder- 
ness of  Sin,  a  desert  region  between  Elim  and  Sinai.  The 
hungry  people  murmured  against  Jehovah  and  against  ]\Ioses 
and  Aaron.  They  whined  out  the  childish  regret  that  they  had 
not  died  among  the  flesh-pots  of  Egypt,  rather  than  be  left  to 
starve  in  the  wilderness.  Jehovah  met  the  discontent  by  a 
flash  of  his  glory  from  the  pillar  of  cloud,  and  by  a  j)romise  of 
immediate  relief  to  the  people.  The  relief  came  at  once,  and 
was  purely  supernatural.  A  double  wonder  was  wrought. 
Before  nightfall,  a  vast  flight  of  quails  fell  into  the  camp,  cover- 
ing the  ground.  On  the  following  morning,  manna  from  heaven 
lay  with  the  dew  around  about  the  host.  The  supernatural 
element  in  the  flight  of  the  quails  was  conspicuous  in  the  an- 
nouncement of  their  coming,  in  their  appearance  at  the  appointed 
time  and  place,  and  in  their  numbers,  sufficient  to  satisfy  the 
appetites  of  the  half-starved  millions  of  the  Israelites.  The 
miraculous  character  of  the  manna  is  indisputable.  It  fell  at 
the  camp  of  Israel,  and  not  elsewhere  in  the  wilderness.  It 
followed  them  forty  3"e;u"s,  and  ceased  only  when  the  journey 
was  finished  (Josh.  v.  12).  It  had  not  been  seen  before,  and  has 
not  been  since  seen;  tiiat  which  remained  ungathcred  was  dis- 
solved by  the  heat  of  the  sun  ;  if  kept  beyond  one  day,  it  became 
corrupt ;  a  double  quantity  fell  on  the  sixth  day,  none  fell  on 
the  seventh.  The  manna  which  was  gathered  on  the  sixtli  re- 
mained sweet  through  the  seventh  day,  and  a  portion  laid  up 
in  the  ark  of  the  covenant  was  preserved  unchanged  for  ages. 

The  critics  who  reject  the  Church  doctrine  of  plenary  inspi-- 
ration  and  of  the  supernatural  liave  found  in  this  part  of  the 
narrative  their  toil  and  sore  travail.  Here  are  two  millions 
of  people,  of  whom  fourteen  hundred  thousand  arc  old  men, 
women,  and  children,  with  thousands  of  cattle ;  they  strike  t)ut 
boldly  into  the  interior  of  Arabia;  they  wander  there  forty 


492  SACRED  HISTORY. 

years.  These  facts  are  to  be  accounted  for ;  and  rationalism 
gains  nothing  by  denying  the  miracle  of  the  manna,  while  it 
leaves  the  journey  unexplained.  Some  of  the  German  critics 
have  put  a  bold  face  on  the  matter,  and  denied  that  the  Hebrews 
crossed  the  desert.  But  whence  came  the  indelible  traces  of 
the  wandering  which  appear  upon  the  Hebrew  tradition  and 
literature?  Even  Ewald  holds  that  the  truth  of  the  journey 
must  be  admitted,  or  the  truth  of  the  subsequent  history  must 
be  denied.  Hitzig  meets  the  difficulty  by  reducing  the  forty 
years  to  four,  and  Von  Bohlen  amends  Hitzig's  proposition 
by  striking  out  four  and  inserting  two  years.  But  how  were 
the  helpless  millions  sustained  even  two  years  in  the  desert? 
Colenso  endeavors  to  solve  that  problem  by  reducing  the  num- 
ber of  the  Israelites  first  to  fifty-seven  thousand,  then  to  sixteen 
thousand,  then  to  eight  thousand.  Laborde  brings  the  six  hun- 
dred thousand  armed  men  down  to  six  hundred.  But  how  was 
it  possible  for  six  hundred  or  ten  thousand  slaves  to  escape  from 
Egypt,  traverse  the  wilderness,  and  achieve  the  conquest  of 
Canaan  ?  If  this  inquiry  be  determined  by  the  record,  the  ele- 
ment of  the  supernatural  is  most  consi^icuous.  If  it  be  deter- 
mined by  the  nature  of  the  case,  it  is  certain  that  the  journey 
could  not  have  been  made  if  the  Almighty  had  not  fed  them  by 
bread  from  heaven. 

The  scarcity  of  water  was  not  so  urgent  as  the  scarcity  of 
food.  Springs  were  found  in  the  course  of  the  journey,  and 
wells  were  occasionally  digged  (Num.  xxi.  18).  In  two  in- 
stances water  was  miraculously  supplied  by  the  smitten  rock  ; 
once  at  Horeb,  and  once  at  Meribah.  Although  the  miracle 
of  the  water  was  not  so  constant  as  the  wonder  of  the  manna, 
yet  the  memory  of  the  smitten  rocks  found  expression  in  the 
psalmody  of  David  and  Isaiah  (Ps.  cv.  41 ;  Isa.  xlviii.  21). 

On  several  occasions,  moreover,  God  inflicted  chastisements 
on  the  people  after  methods  strictly  supernatural.  At  Taberah, 
the  fire  of  the  Lord  burned  among  them;  at  the  Graves  of  Lust, 
the  plague  raged  in  the  camp ;  at  Hazeroth,  Miriam  was  smitten 
with  leprosy.  '  The  earth  opened  and  swallowed  up  Korah 
and  his  company;  fire  from  the  Lord  consumed  two  hundred 


MIRACLES  ADAPTED   TO   THE   CASE.  493 

and  fifty  of  their  fellow-conspirators ;  and  a  plague  destroyed 
several  thousand  of  the  less  violent  mutineers.  In  the  forti- 
eth year  of  the  wandering,  the  Lord  scourged  them  with  fiery 
serpents ;  and  finally,  on  the  plains  of  Moab,  twenty-three 
thousand  perished  in  punishment  for  whoredom  and  idolatry. 
These  were  not  ordinary  visitations  of  God.  The  property  of 
the  supernatural  appeared  either  in  the  punishment,  as  in  the 
fire  that  came  out  from  the  Lord  and  consumed  the  guilty ;  or 
in  the  relief  afforded,  as  when  the  plague  was  stayed  by  the 
burning  censer  of  Aaron ;  or  in  both  the  nature  of  the  calamity 
and  the  remedy  provided,  as  in  the  fiery  serpent  and  the  brazen 
serpent.  Although  none  of  these  mighty  works  were  wrought 
before  the  giving  of  the  law,  yet  they  are  not  out  of  place  in 
this  summary,  inasmuch  as  an  account  of  the  wonders  in  the 
wilderness  would  be  incomplete  without  them.  They  were,  like 
tlie  pillar  of  cloud  and  the  manna,  manifestations  to  the  senses 
of  the  being  and  authority  of  Jehovah,  and  instruments  in  the 
spiritual  discipline  of  the  Israelites. 

On  an  examination  of  these  wonders,  it  will  be  seen,  first, 
that  they  were  adapted  to  the  exigencies  of  the  chosen  seed. 
The  miracle  at  the  Red  Sea  delivered  them  from  the  vengeance 
of  Pharaoh  ;  the  cloudy  pillar  led  them  safely  along  the  blind 
pathways  of  the  desert ;  manna  from  heaven  gave  them  bread 
to  eat,  and  the  smitten  rock  water  to  drink  ;  and  the  frowns 
of  the  Almighty  rebuked  their  iniquities.  These  wonders,  like 
the  miracles  of  Elijah  and  of  Christ,  were  none  of  them  in- 
tended for  mere  effect ;  but  every  one  was  answerable  to  some 
grave  emergency  in  the  history  of  the  chosen  seed.  More- 
over, several  of  these  wonders  were  continuous.  The  other 
miracles  of  the  Old  Testament,  and  the  mighty  works  of 
Christ,  were  begun  and  finished  at  once.  But  the  manna  fell 
six  days  out  of  seven,  and  the  pillar  of  cloud  and  fire  hovered 
over  the  camp  through  forty  years  continuously.  Next,  these 
signs  of  God's  presence  bound  the  peojjle  together,  and  held 
them  to  their  journey.  Finally,  the  wonders  of  mercy  and 
of  judgment  prepared  the  Hebrews  for  their  calling.  They 
brought  home   to   the   people   the   lesson   of   the    being    and 


494  SACBED  HISTORY. 

supremacy  of  Jehovah,  teaching  them  that  he  was  a  God  nigh 
at  hand,  and  not  afar  off;  that  the  faith  and  worship  received 
from  the  patriarchs  were  the  only  true  rehgion  and  lawful 
-worship;  that  the  Hebrews  constituted  the  sole  Church  of 
God  on  earth,  and  that  they  were  called  to  be  both  the  heirs 
and  channels  of  salvation.  Moses  summed  up  the  whole  case 
in  words  which  are  worthy  of  perpetual  remembrance  (Deut. 
viii.  2-5). 

ExoD.  xvii.  —  From  the  Wilderness  of  Sin  they  marched  to 
Rephidim,  near  Horeb.  Here,  although  the  manna  continued 
to  fall,  the  water  failed;  and  the  people,  ever  filled  with  the 
spirit  of  discontent,  began  to  complain.  Their  impious  mur- 
murings  were  silenced  by  the  stream  that  flowed  from  the 
smitten  rock  of  Horeb.  Near  by,  the  rapacious  tribe  of  Amalek 
fell  upon  the  exhausted  rear  of  Israel,  and  "  smote  the  feeble, 
the  faint,  and  the  weary  "  (Deut.  xxv.  18).  Under  the  direc- 
tion of  Moses,  Joshua,  whose  name  now  appears  for  the  first 
time  in  the  history,  put  himself  at  the  head  of  a  body  of  picked 
men,  to  drive  back  the  barbarians.  Moses  took  position  on  a 
hill  in  sight  of  the  field  of  battle,  and  gave  himself  to  prayer. 
While  Aaron  and  Hur  supported  his  uplifted  hands,  Joshua 
gave  fight  to  the  enemy,  and  "  discomfited  them  with  the  edge 
of  the  sword." 

ExoD.  xviii.  —  Horeb  was  not  far  from  the  tents  of  Jethro, 
the  father-in-law  of  Moses.  Hearing  of  the  arrival  of  his  son- 
in-law  at  Horeb,  with  the  hosts  of  the  Lord,  Jethro  came  to  the 
camp,  bringing  with  him  Zipporah  and  her  two  sons.  Moses 
received  them  with  every  demonstration  of  joy.  He  related 
the  story  of  the  exodus,  the  wonders  by  which  it  was  accom- 
plished, and  explained  the  purpose  of  the  journey.  It  was  a 
surprise  and  a  revelation  to  Jethro.  Praises  to  Jehovah  burst 
forth  from  his  lips.  "Blessed  be  Jehovah."  "Now  I  know 
that  Jehovah  is  greater  than  all  gods."  Being  a  priest  of  the 
true  God,  and,  like  Melchizedek,  a  representative  in  the  heathen 
world  of  the  primitive  faith,  he  offered  burnt-offerings  to  the 
God  of  Israel,  and  brought  Mos<3s  and  Aaron  and  all  tlie  elders 
together  to  a  sacrificial  feast  upon  the  flesh  of  the  victims  that 


JUDGES  AND  A   GUIDE.  495 

remained  unconsumed  at  the  altar.  Jethro  soon  perceived 
that  the  strength  of  his  son-in-law,  now  eighty  years  old,  was 
giving  way  under  the  weight  of  his  cares  and  labors,  and  that 
the  peojDle  would  be  likely  to  suffer  from  the  unavoidable  delay 
of  his  counsels.  He  advised  Moses  to  appoint  a  body  of  intelli- 
gent men  from  the  various  tribes,  whose  duty  it  should  be  to 
determine  all  questions  of  minor  importance  that  might  arise 
from  day  to  day,  reserving  the  more  difficult  cases  to  be  laid  by 
Moses  before  the  Lord.  Moses  adopted  the  suggestion.  The 
people  by  free  vote  elected,  and  Moses  commissioned,  the  new 
judges  (Deut.  i.  9-18).  The  sagacious  sheik  having,  uncon- 
sciously to  himself,  planted  the  germ  of  a  permanent  ordinance 
in  the  civil  institutes  of  Israel,  departed  to  his  home. 

Num.  X.  29-32.  —  Moses  requested  Hobab,  his  brother-in-law, 
to  go  with  him  to  the  land  of  Canaan.  He  supported  the 
invitation  by  the  assurance  that  Hobab  should  share  in  all 
the  promises  made  to  Israel.  "  Come  with  us,  and  we  will  do 
thee  good."  Hobab  at  first  declined  to  go,  declaring  that  he 
must  return  to  Midian.  Moses  would  not  be  denied,  saying 
that  he  needed  one  to  traverse  the  wilderness  with  him  who 
"  might  be  eyes  "  to  the  wanderers.  Indeed,  Hobab  was  neces- 
sary to  them,  on  account  of  his  personal  acquaintance  with  the 
mountains  and  valleys  and  pastures  and  Avater-springs  of  the 
wilderness.  The  pillar  of  cloud  determined  the  general  route 
to  be  taken,  the  time  and  place  of  encampment,  and  the  periods 
of  rest;  but  its  movements  did  not  afford  the  minute  informa- 
tion which  a  native  of  the  wilderness,  like  Hobab,  could  sujiply. 
He  finally  yielded  to  the  solicitations  of  ]\Ioses,  and  identified 
himself  with  Israel.  He  chose  the  good  part  for  his  sons,  even 
if  he  himself  did  not  share  in  the  inheritance  of  the  chosen  seed 
(Judg.  i.  IG,  iv.  11). 

An  easy  journey  from  Rephidim  brought  Israel  to  Horeb, 
and  they  "  camped  before  the  mount."  An  exposition  of  the 
law  given  at  Sinai  does  not  fall  within  the  scope  of  these  pages. 
lUit  the  course  of  thought  already  touched  upon  would  be 
incomplete  in  the  absence  of  a  distinct  recognition  of  the 
incomparable  dignity  of  the  law  given  from  Sinai,  and  the  rela- 


496  SACRED  niSTOEY. 

tion  which  it  sustains  to  what  went  before  it  in  the  history  of 
redemption.  Signs  of  this  dignity  appear  first  in  the  consum- 
mate grandeur  of  the  theopliany  through  which  the  law  was 
delivered.  Next,  the  record  in  which  it  is  embodied  is  the 
central  mass  of  the  Hebrew  scriptures.  All  that  goes  before 
is  simply  introductory  to  the  legislation  at  Sinai,  and  all  that 
follows  describes  its  administration.  And,  further,  the  thirty- 
nine  books  of  the  Hebrew  Scriptures  take  their  name  from  tlie 
covenant  wherein  the  law  was  given  by  Jehovah  and  accepted 
by  Israel  (Exod.  xxiv.  7).  We  call  the  volume  the  Old  Cove- 
nant, or  the  Old  Testament,  a  designation  which  rests  on  the 
authority  of  inspiration  (Heb.  ix.  15). 

There  was  a  vital  connection  between  the  law  given  from 
Sinai,  and  the  preceding  revelations.  First  of  all,  the  Mosaic 
law  was  reduced  to  the  form  of  a  covenant  between  God  and 
Israel.  A  sacrifice  of  burnt-offering  and  of  peace-offering  was 
made ;  the  law  was  read  in  the  audience  of  the  people ;  they 
promised  to  obey  it ;  and  the  whole  was  ratified  by  blood 
sprinkled  on  the  altar,  on  the  people,  and  on  the  book  of  the 
law  (Exod.  xxiv.;  Heb.  ix.  19,  20).  This  is  called  the  Sinai 
covenant.  The  idea  of  a  covenant  was  not  new  to  the 
Hebrews.  Nothing  was  more  familiar  than  the  covenant  con- 
cluded with  Noah,  and  its  sign,  the  bow  in  the  clouds ;  and  the 
covenant  concluded  with  Abraham,  and  its  sign  in  their  flesh. 
They  accepted  the  Sinai  covenant,  not  as  some  new  thing,  but 
as  one  in  a  series  of  covenants  which  began  with  Abraham,  — 
itself  a  manifestation  of  the  covenant  of  grace. 

In  like  manner  the  germs  of  the  ceremonial  institutes  were 
planted  in  the  religious  worship  of  the  chosen  seed  many  cen- 
turies before  the  law  was  given  at  Sinai.  These  institutes 
relate  specifically  to  sacred  places,  or  the  sanctuary ;  to  sacred 
persons,  or  the  priesthood ;  to  sacred  rites,  or  the  ritual ;  to 
sacred  times,  or  the  calendar.  In  the  altars  built  here  and 
there  between  the  gates  of  Eden  and  the  wells  of  Beersheba, 
described  by  Moses,  we  have  the  genesis  of  the  holy  place  and  of 
the  future  tabernacle  and  temple.  The  minister  at  the  altar 
is  the  basis  of  the  priesthood ;  Moses  teaches  that  the  sacerdotal 


OLDER    OliDIXAXCES   SYSTEMATIZED.  497 

offices  had  been  rightly  performed  by  Abel,  Noah,  and  the 
three  patriarchs.  He  shows  also  how  the  prophecy  of  Jacob 
in  regard  to  Levi,  and  the  consecration  of  the  first-born  of 
Israel  at  the  tenth  plague,  prepared  the  way  for  the  establish- 
ment at  Sinai  of  the  Levitical  order.  The  basis  of  the  ritual 
is  the  burnt-offering,  giving  rise  to  the  Olah  or  whole  burnt- 
offering  ;  and  the  burnt-offering  originated  with  Noah.  The 
law  of  clean  and  unclean  revealed  to  Noah;  tithes  for  pious  uses 
paid  by  Abraham  to  INIelchizedek ;  the  redemption  of  the  first- 
born of  men,  and  the  consecration  of  the  first-born  of  cattle, 
in  the  midst  of  the  tenth  plague,  were  made  parts  of  tlie  law 
of  sacrifices.  God's  covenant  with  Abraham  appointed  the 
sacrament  of  circumcision,  and  the  exodus  supplied  the  sacra- 
ment of  the  passover  to  the  coming  ritual.  Finally,  the  sab- 
bath is  the  basis  of  the  calendar,  and  the  ordinance  of  the 
sabbath  was  as  ancient  as  the  creation.  The  ceremonial  law 
was,  to  a  certain  degree,  a  systematic  arrangement  of  ancient 
Divine  ordinances.  Similar  observations  apply  to  the  law  of 
segregation,  first  enforced  on  Abraham ;  to  the  ordinance  of 
marriage,  which  was  instituted  in  the  Garden  of  Eden  ;  to  the 
right  of  man  to  the  soil  and  to  the  service  of  the  lower  animals, 
secured  by  ordinances  given  to  Adam  and  Noah ;  and  to  the 
protection  of  human  life,  made  sure  in  the  covenant  with  Noah. 
The  Hebrews,  who  were  familiar  with  the  past,  were  not  taken 
by  surprise  when  they  found  these  sacred  usages  in  their 
Divine  law.  Tliat  law  was  in  some  good  sense,  in  its  funda- 
mental principles,  a  summary  of  past  revelations;  and  it  is  an 
illustration  of  the  fore-ordaiuing  providence  of  Him  who  sees  the 
end  from  the  beginning,  and  who  works  from  afar  toward 
the  consummation  of  his  plans. 

Another  example  of  the  kind  is  the  position  assigned  at  Sinai 
to  the  elders  of  the  people.  In  his  first  interview  with  Jehovah 
in  the  mount,  ]Moses  was  directed  to  communicate  a  preliminary 
message  to  the  people.  He  obeyed  this  direction  by  repeating 
the  words  to  the  "elders  of  the  children  of  Israel"  as  their 
acknoAvledged  representatives  (Exod.  iv.  29).  By  the  legisla- 
tion of  Sinai  the  elders  were  joined  with  Aaron  in  receiving  the 


498  SACEED  HISTORY. 

law  (Lev.  ix.  1)  ;  witli  Moses  in  delivering  it  (Deut.  xxvii.  1)  ; 
and  with  Aaron  and  his  sons  in  the  ceremony  of  imputing,  by 
the  imposition  of  hands,  the  sins  of  the  whole  people  to  the 
victim  at  the  altar  (Lev.  iv.  15).  At  this  time,  also,  the  great 
council  of  the  seventy  elders,  the  original  of  the  sanhedrim, 
was  organized  (Exod.  xxiv.  1).  The  Hebrews  of  the  exodus 
were  familiar  with  the  persons  and  the  official  position  of  the 
elders.  At  the  bush  God  had  said  to  Moses,  "  Go  and  gather 
the  elders  of  Israel  together  "  (Exod.  iii.  16)  ;  "  and  thou  shalt 
come,  thou  and  the  elders  of  Israel,  unto  the  king  of  Egypt " 
(ver.  18).  In  Exod.  iv.  30,  31,  we  read  that  Moses  and  Aaron 
did  the  signs  "  in  the  sight  of  the  people  ;  "  but  in  verse  29  it  is 
said  that  they  gathered  together  for  the  purpose  "  all  the  elders 
of  the  children  of  Israel,"  showing  that  the  elders  were  author- 
ized to  represent  the  people.  When  the  first  Passover  was 
about  to  be  kept,  Moses  gave  the  necessary  orders  "  to  all  the 
elders  of  Israel"  (Exod.  xii.  21).  He  smote  the  rock,  also,  in 
the  sight  of  "the  elders  of  Israel"  (xvii.  5).  The  later  scrip- 
tures show  that  the  government  of  elders  continued  down  to 
the  days  of  Christ,  thence  down  to  the  dispersion  of  the  Jews. 
It  is  perpetuated  to  this  day,  and  yet  it  owed  its  origin  to  a 
period  anterior  to  the  giving  of  the  law. 

Another  step  towards  the  interior  of  the  subject  leads  to 
the  conclusion,  that,  although  the  ruling  eldership  was  com- 
petent to  the  ecclesiastical  government  of  the  chosen  seed, 
a  settled  form  of  civil  government  was  a  necessity  of  their 
position.  Six  hundred  thousand  Hebrews,  transported  to  a 
distant  region  and  permanently  settled  there,  must  have  per- 
ished like  sheep  scattered  abroad,  in  the  absence  of  a  civil 
magistracy,  and  a  body  of  laws  regulating  their  social,  munici- 
pal, and  international  relations. 

Now,  the  establishment  among  the  chosen  seed,  of  a  civil 
government,  was  presupposed  by  the  covenants  with  Abraham 
and  Noah.  The  land  of  Canaan  was  given  to  them  as  their 
permanent  home.  The  metes  and  bounds  of  the  inheritance 
were  settled,  and  made  matter  of  record  (Gen.  xv.  18-20). 
The  people  were  to  become  a  great  nation ;  their  numbers  were 


THE  HEBREW  COMMONWEALTH.  499 

to  equal  the  stars  and  the  sands ;  and  God  would  bless  their 
friends,  and  curse  their  enemies.  Here  the  way  is  opened  for 
an  inquiry  into  the  characteristics  of  the  new  Hebrew  com- 
monwealth. It  was  not  a  pure  civil  commonwealth  like  the 
United  States  of,  America,  nor  distinctively  a  spiritual  society 
like  the  Presbyterian  Church  in  this  country,  nor  a  union  of 
State  and  Church  like  Russia  or  Spain ;  it  was  the  product 
of  a  fusion  of  tlio  spiritual  and  temporal,  and  therefore  rightly 
called  a  theocracy.  The  very  beginnings  of  the  Hebrew  com- 
munity show  that  it  was  intended  to  be  first  a  Church,  then  a 
State.  It  took  its  origin  with  Abraham  and  in  the  covenant 
which  God  gave  to  him ,  that  covenant  being  a  manifestation 
of  the  covenant  of  grace.  The  organization  took,  of  necessity, 
a  spiritual  character  from  the  spiritual  ordinances  by  virtue  of 
which  it  Avas  formed,  just  as  a  state  or  a  city  takes  its  numi- 
cipal  character  from  its  constitution  or  charter.  Next,  the  seal 
which  made  a  part  of  its  organic  law  was  circumcision ;  and 
circumcision  was  a  symbol  of  inward  purification,  "  a  seal  of 
the  righteousness  of  faith,"  and  a  true  sacrament.  It  was  a 
sign  instinct  with  spiritual  ideas.  Hardly  any  thing  could  be 
more  incongruous,  not  to  say  grotesque,  as  the  seal,  or  coat- 
of-arms,  of  a  pure  civil  commonwealth,  than  such  a  mark  in 
the  flesh  of  its  people.  Moreover,  the  covenant  was  given 
in  imposing  theophanies,  and  ratified  by  bloody  offerings,  —  ele- 
ments Avhich  enter  into  an  organic  law  wherein  religious  ideas 
are  the  controlling  forces.  The  society  of  the  circumcision,  in 
which  tliese  conditions  met,  bore  the  distinctive  marks  of  a  com- 
munity of  Jehovah,  a  true  theocracy.  The  word  "theocracy" 
(Qe6^  Kpareiv')  defines  itself,  after  the  manner  of  its  cognates ; 
monarchy  being  the  supreme  rule  of  one  man,  aristocracy  the 
rule  of  a  privileged  few,  democracy  the  rule  of  the  people  at 
laro-e.  The  theocracy  of  the  Old  Testament  may  be  described 
as  the  fusion  of  the  civil  and  ecclesiastical  g(tvernment  in  one 
undivided  society,  that  society  being  taken  by  Jehovah  under 
his  own  immediate  and  supreme  control.  He  was  something 
more  and  other  than  the  providential  Governor  of  the  Hel)rews 
in  the  manner  and  forms  in  which  he  is  the  sovereign  Ruler  of 


500  SACRED  HISTORY. 

all  other  nations ;  lie  reserved  to  himself  the  M^hole  power 
of  administration,  botli  civil  and  religious.  There  was  in 
Israel  no  legislative  body  with  power  to  frame  or  amend  or  to 
repeal  the  laws  of  the  land.  The  Hebrew  magistracy  was  not 
clothed  with  the  complete  and  unrestrained  power  to  judge 
and  to  execute  judgment  which  is  in  modern  times  committed 
to  civil  tribunals.  Isaiah  covers  the  whole  ground  with  admir- 
able precision :  "  For  Jehovah  is  our  judge,  Jehovah  is  our 
lawgiver,  Jehovah  is  our  king  ;  he  will  save  us  "  (Isa.  xxxiii.  22). 
The  Hebrew  polity  was  impenetrated  and  shaped  by  this 
ruling  idea.  By  virtue  thereof,  for  example,  the  distinction 
was  obliterated  between  sin  as  an  offence  against  God,  and 
crime  as  an  offence  against  the  state.  God  was  himself  the 
state.  Murder  was  not  only  a  vulgar  crime,  but  a  sacrilege, 
a  blow  aimed  at  the  image  of  God  in  man.  Idolatry  was  high 
treason,  leze-majest//  against  God  the  reigning  King.  Sabbath- 
breaking  was  in  defiance  of  tlie  Creator,  Avho  had  reserved  that 
day  to  himself.  Blasphemy  was  contempt  expressed  for  his . 
adorable  name.  Witclicraft,  and  intercourse  with  evil  spirits, 
were  alliances  with  his  enemies.  Further,  the  magistracy  was, 
in  the  early  period  of  tlie  theocracy,  in  the  hands  of  the  elders 
of  the  people  and  the  priesthood.  In  later  times,  the  judges 
were  no  more  than  temporary  regents  or  dictators,  appointed 
to  repel  the  invasions  of  the  lieathen  ;  and  the  kings  were 
viceroys  only,  reigning  in  the  name  of  the  only  sovereign  King, 
Jehovah.  Still  further,  the  sacrifices  were  both  national  and 
religious  ordinances.  The  Passover  was  a  solemn  sacrament ; 
the  great  day  of  Atonement  was  a  day  of  fasting,  humiliation, 
and  prayer ;  the  Pentecost  and  the  Feast  of  Tabernacles  were 
not  "  sunshine  holidays,"  but  holy  days,  in  which  Israel  as  a 
nation  and  a  church  paid  homage  to  their  divine  Sovereign. 
There  was  no  civil  polity  or  religious  polity,  the  one  inde- 
pendent of  the  other  or  separable  from  it ;  both  were  fused 
down  into  one  indivisible  polity.  Loyalty  apart  from  religion 
was  unknown  to  the  Jews;  the  two  were  one  virtue.  Piety 
and  patriotism  were  convertible  terms ,  the  good  citizen  was  a 
devout  worshipper.     The  commonwealth  was  the  Church  in  the 


TUB  NATION   WAS  FOR    THE   CIIURCn.  501 

form  of  a  nation,  and   the  nation   was  the  environment  and 
fortress  of  the  Church. 

The  fusion  of  the  civil  and  religious  government  in  tlic 
theocracy  casts  light  on  many  of  the  leading  peculiarities  wliich 
are  found  in  the  sacred  records.  The  functions  of  the  prophets 
are  here  explained.  They  were  not  only  inspired  teachers  and 
seers  looking  far  into  the  future,  but  messengers  sent  from  God 
to  the  rulers  and  kings,  bearing  explicit  orders  as  to  the  admin- 
istration of  })ublic  affairs.  The  reason  is  shown,  also,  why  the 
civil  and  religious  codes  are  contained  in  the  same  volume,  and 
why  their  provisions  are  not  classified,  but  mingled  together 
in  the  sacred  pages.  In  this  fusion  an  explanation  is  also  suj)- 
plied  of  the  fact  that  temporal  punishments  were  inflicted  on 
those  who  were  guilty  of  what  are  commonly  called  ecclesias- 
tical offences,  such  as  idolatry  and  sabbath-breaking.  Every 
sin  was  a  crime  against  God,  who  was- the  state.  And,  still 
further,  to  the  question.  Wherefore  does  Moses  say  so  little  of 
the  rewards  of  piety  and  obedience  in  the  world  to  come  ?  one 
answer,  though  not  the  leading  answer,  is,  that  la\\s  of  crimes 
and  punishments  rarely  hold  out  the  rewards  of  good  behavior. 
The  Church,  which  was  the  first  care  of  Jehovah,  became  a 
nation,  in  order  that,  through  the  forces  and  institutes  of 
a  nation,  he  might  fulfd  his  purposes  in  the  founding  of  the 
Church.  These  institutes  gave  suj)port  to  the  moral  and 
ceremonial  systems,  preserved  the  sacred  oracles,  suppressed 
idolatry  with  a  strong  arm,  held  at  bay  the  enemies  of  God 
and  his  Church,  and  led  the  people  up  to  Christ  throngh  tlje 
teaching  and  discipline  of  their  schoolmaster,  the  law.  Tiie 
civil  was  in  service  to  the  spiritual.  From  first  to  last  it  was 
held  in  the  subordinate  relation  of  the  servant  to  his  master. 
Its  olfice  was  to  stand  and  wait.  The  commonwealth  as  a 
nation  was  worth  nothing  except  as  an  en\ironment  to  Israel 
considered  as  tlie  Cliurch  of  God. 

Some  of  the  historical  lessons  suggested  by  the  course  of 
thought  may  be  expressed  in  a  few  words.  For  example,  the 
legislation  of  Sinai  in  its  inception  follows  the  rule  of  progres- 
sive development  which  is  one  of  the  characteristics  of  sacred 


502  SACEED  HISTORY. 

history.  The  Mosaic  Law  was  more  a  growth  than  a  special 
creation.  Its  germs  were  planted  in  the  days  of  Adam  and 
Abel  and  Noah  and  Abraham  and  Joseph.  One  by  one  the 
rnling  ideas  of  ecclesiastical  and  civil  law  were  revealed  to  the 
early  patriarchs,  were  unfolded  and  worked  out,  and,  in  their 
mature  form,  were  properly  adjusted  and  incorporated  in  the 
law.  Moreover,  the  people  were  prepared  all  the  better  to 
receive  the  law,  because  they  were  familiar  with  its  most 
important  provisions.  So  far  as  they  recognized  in  it  the 
usages,  both  religious  and  civil,  to  which  they  and  their  fathers 
had  been  addicted,  they  were  ready  to  receive  the  ordinances 
with  the  hospitality  which  all  people  accord  to  their  own 
cherished  traditions. 

The  inherent  dignity  of  the  law  shines  forth  from  the  ordi- 
nances which,  enforced  by  Divine  authority,  reduced  a  turbulent 
mass  of  manumitted  slaves  into  an  orderly  church,  state,  and 
body  politic  ;  which  gave  to  the  new  politico-ecclesiastical  soci- 
ety, a  written  directory  of  worship  and  a  written  civil  code ; 
which  erected  a  theocracy,  —  a  form  of  government  never 
before,  never  since,  successfully  established ;  which  gave  to 
mankind,  in  the  Ten  Commandments,  an  infallible  rule  of  im- 
mutable and  eternal  morality;  which,  through  these  commands, 
brought  to  mankind  a  knowledge  of  sin,  and,  through  the  ritual, 
a  knowledge  of  salvation,  by  virtue  of  an  atonement  from  the 
guilt  of  sin,  and  of  purification  from  the  pollution  of  sin.  The 
system,  considered  simply  as  an  exposition  of  the  fundamental 
principles  of  ecclesiastical  and  civil  jurisprudence,  takes  the 
first  place  among  all  other  contributions  to  the  science  of 
government,  —  a  place,  also,  to  which  there  is  no  second. 

We  have  here,  still  further,  a  persuasive  argument  for  the 
historical  unity  of  the  Pentateuch.  The  Book  of  Genesis  and 
the  first  half  of  the  Book  of  Exodus  contain,  among  other 
things,  a  constitutional  history  of  the  Hebrew  Church  and 
commonwealth.  The  lawgiver  is  the  historian.  He  begins  by 
explaining  the  origin  of  Divine  ordinances  which  were  pub- 
lished, one  by  one,  to  the  fathers,  beginning  with  Adam,  and 
by  describing  the  influence  which  they  exerted  upon  the  early 


FIRST   WRITTEN  CONSTITUTION.  603 

career  of  the  chosen  seed.  Then  he  shows  how  these  ordi- 
nances were  made  part  and  parcel  of  a  permanent  code  of  laws. 
The  record  contains,  therefore,  the  scattered  elements  of  a  com- 
plete legislation,  together  with  the  legislation  itself  in  its  final 
form.  As  such,  it  furnishes  sufficient  internal  evidence  of  the 
historical  unity  of  the  record.  In  one  of  the  pra3^ers  used  by 
the  early  Christians  at  the  Lord's  Supper,  they  recognized  a 
symbol  of  the  unity  of  the  Church  in  "the  broken  bread  scat- 
tered over  the  hills,  and,  being  gathered,  becoming  one."  Even 
so  the  thoughts  of  God  were  revealed  one  by  one  to  successive 
generations,  and  then  recapitulated  at  Sinai.  And  to  crown  all, 
the  law  was  committed  to  record,  marking  thereby  a  new  era  in 
the  science  of  government,  —  the  era  of  the  first  wi-itten  con- 
stitution;  the  idea,  and  the  earliest  example  of  that  instrument, 
being  products  of  Divine  inspiration. 


504  SACRED  U I  STORY. 


CHAPTER  XXXIV. 

SINS   OF   THE   PATRIARCHS. 

One  of  the  well-known  problems  of  sacred  history  brings  into 
notice  the  sins  of  holy  persons.  The  problem  embraces  three 
conditions.  The  first  recognizes  the  heinous  nature  of  these 
delinquencies.  Noah,  the  preacher  of  righteousness,  was  found 
uncovered  and  intoxicated  in  his  tent.  Righteous  Lot  is  charge- 
able with  the  sins  of  Sodom  itself,  —  drunkenness  and  incest. 
Abraham,  the  friend  of  God  and  the  father  of  the  faithful,  was 
twice  convicted  of  falsehood  in  the  presence  of  heathen  princes. 
Isaac,  in  whom  the  chosen  seed  was  called,  repeated  that  offence. 
Jacob,  with  the  connivance  of  Rebekah  his  mother,  practised  a 
preconcerted  fraud  on  his  blind  old  father,  and  upheld  the  fraud 
by  deception  and  falsehood.  Such  are  tlie  painful  facts.  Sec- 
ondly, no  animadversion  is  distinctly  passed  upon  this  miscon- 
duct. The  historian  describes  in  a  few  words  the  delinquencies 
of  Noah,  Lot,  Abraham,  Isaac,  and  Jacob ;  but  he  does  not  in 
terms  condemn  the  conduct  of  either  as  derogatory  to  them,  or 
to  their  position  under  the  covenants,  or  as  offensive  to  God. 
Moreover,  —  this  is  the  third  condition  of  the  problem,  —  the 
offenders  were  undoubtedly  the  objects  of  God's  special  favor 
and  grace.  God  held  frequent  intercourse  with  Noah,  saved 
him  and  his  family  from  the  Deluge,  entered  into  covenant  with 
him  as  the  second  father  of  the  race,  and  even  after  his  scandal- 
ous fall  God  bestowed  on  him  the  gift  of  prophecy.  Abraham 
was  chosen  to  be  the  founder  of  the  Church,  the  recipient  and 
channel  of  boundless  blessings.  Yet  after  he  had  beheld  the 
Son  of  God  in  two  theophanies,  he  equivocated  to  Pharaoh  ; 
repeating  that  grave  offence  after  God   had   granted   to   him 


SCEPTICAL   cm  TICS.  505 

other  theophanies,  and  had  entered  into  covenant  with  him, 
the  patriarch  misled  Abimelech  in  regard  to  his  marriage  with 
Sarah,  bringing  into  peril  her  chastity  within  a  year  before  tlie 
birth  of  Isaac.  But  in  spite  of  all  that,  God  gave  Isaac  to  him, 
and  confirmed  his  promises  by  an  oath,  saying,  "  Blessing  I  will 
bless  thee,  and  in  thy  seed  shall  all  nations  be  blessed."  Isaac's 
denial  to  Abimelech  of  his  relation  to  Rebekah  a^  her  husband 
was  followed  by  the  thcophany  at  Beerslieba ;  the  Lord  said, 
"Fear  not,  for  I  am  with  thee,  and  will  bless  thee  and  multiply 
thy  seed  for  my  servant  Abraham's  sake "  (Gen.  xxvi.  24). 
The  deception  which  Jacob  practised  on  his  helpless  old  father 
was  followed  by  the  magnificent  vision  of  the  ascending  and 
descending  angels,  the  Almiglity  granting  to  the  deceiver  all  the 
blessings  bestowed  on  Abraham,  with  the  special  promise,  "I 
am  with  thee,  and  will  keep  thee  in  all  places  whither  thou 
goest,  and  will  bring  thee  again  to  this  land ;  for  I  will  not 
leave  thee  "  (Gen.  xxviii.  15). 

The  sceptical  critics  have  made  diligent  use  of  these  circum- 
stances. Noah  and  Lot  were,  they  are  quite  sure,  no  better  than 
the  people  who  were  drowned  and  burned  up.  Abraham,  Isaac, 
and  Jacob  were  quite  as  unworthy  as  Pharaoh,  Abimelech,  and 
Laban.  "Who,"  demands  Less,  "would  not  rather  be  Esau 
than  Jacob  ? "  De  Wette  exclaims,  "  Tlie  Greeks  have  their 
crafty  Ulysses,  but  how  much  nobler  and  more  exalted  is  he 
than  Jacob  !  "  Inferences  unfavorable  to  the  character  of  the 
God  of  the  Old  Testament  are  drawn  from  the  representations 
of  his  having  held  special  communion,  and  having  entered  into 
solemn  covenant,  with  these  men,  conveying  to  them  consummate 
favors.  One  of  the  critics  says,  "  I  take  it  to  be  a  manifest  con- 
tradiction, tliat  God  could  have  comnuuiidii  with  sncli  impure 
souls,  and  that  he  could  choose  such  an  impure,  wicked  race  in 
preference  to  others,  for  his  peculiar  people."  Another  remarks  : 
"  With  tlie  idea  of  God  as  a  holy  Being,  tlie  distinction  conferred 
on  Jacob  ill  accords  with  him  whom  the  Scripture  charges  with 
so  many  immoral  actions."  Nor  does  this  school  of  unbelief  fail 
to  impugn  the  ins})iration  of  tlie  sacred  writer,  on  the  ground 
that  he  relates  the  facts  simply,  without  animadversion.     We 


506  SACRED  HISTORY. 

are  told  that  his  failure  to  censure  the  patriarchs  according  to 
their  demerits  indicates  in  him  either  an  indifference  to  their 
bad  conduct,  or  an  approval  of  their  delinquencies.  Tuch  ven- 
tures to  say  that  "the  cunning  and  calculating  character  of 
Jacob,  which  might  appear  objectionable  to  a  stricter  moralist, 
is  represented  as  wholly  blameless." 

The  problem  was  not  satisfactorily  solved  by  the  rabbins  or 
by  the  early  Christian  Fathers.  Noah,  for  example,  say  the 
Jewish  doctors,  was  unacquainted  with  the  strength  of  the 
wine;  or  he  was  old,  and 'unable  to  bear  it.  Lienthal,  a  modern 
writer,  with  the  best  intentions  no  doubt,  asks  the  question, 
"  Is  it  not  possible  that  just  when  the  earth  had  been  manured 
by  the  rich  soil  of  the  Deluge,  and  by  so  many  dead  bodies 
[.s-fc],  such  generous  wine  might  be  produced  that  a  quantity 
which  Noah  Avould  at  any  other  time  have  taken  with  impunity, 
now  intoxicated  him?"  Lot  is  excused  for  his  double  immor- 
ality on  the  ground  that  he  was  led  astray  by  his  aaughters. 
Abraham  and  Isaac  attempted  to  pass  off  their  wives  as  their 
sisters ;  and  the  apology  offered  for  them  is,  that,  according 
to  the  usage  of  the  Hebrew  tongue,  Sarah  and  Rebekah  were, 
respectively,  their  sisters.  But  the  suggestion  overlooks  the 
circumstance  that  the  two  husbands  intended  to  create  the  im- 
pression that  these  women  were  not  their  wives.  Even  Augus- 
tine allows  himself  to  resort  to  this  sophism.  He  expresses  the 
opinion,  also,  that  Jacob's  personation  of  Esau  was  justified 
by  his  purchase  of  the  birthright.  Origen,  Chrysostom,  and 
Jerome  excuse  Jacob  by  the  plea  that  his  fraud  proceeded  from 
an  intent  not  to  do  evil,  but  to  secure  the  greatest  good.  Lot's 
daughters,  it  is  urged  by  way  of  apology  for  their  unnatural 
crime,  fancied  that  there  was  not  another  man  left  on  earth 
besides  their  father,  and  they  sought  to  become  the  ancestors 
of  Christ. 

It  was  reserved  for  John  Calvin,  in  his  commentary  on 
Gen.  XX.  12,  to  point  out  the  principles  which  should  govern 
the  question.  The  labors  of  Hengstenberg,  Havernich,  and 
Kurtz,  and  of  our  own  illustrious  Joseph  Addison  Alexander 
have  cast  so  much  light  upon  the  subject  that  little  remains  to 


THE  RECOItD   TBVE   TO  ITS   OBJECTS.  507 

be  done,  beyond  a  restatement  of  the  case.^  And  the  ground 
will  be  covered  by  satisfactory  replies  to  three  inquiries :  Why 
were  these  immoralities  recorded  by  Moses?  Why  are  they 
mentioned  without  direct  animadversion  ?  Why  were  tokens 
of  the  Divine  favor  bestowed  on  the  sinning  patriarchs  ? 

I.  To  the  first  in(|uiry  an  obvious  answer  might  be,  that 
Moses  recorded  these  allegations  because  they  are  true.  He 
might  have  suppressed  them  altogether ;  if  suppressed,  they 
would  not  have  come  to  the  knowledge  of  mankind  ;  and  the 
record  of  the  sins  of  God's  people  shows  that  the  Bible  is  the 
most  honest  book  in  the  world.  These,  no  doubt,  are  important 
considerations.  And  yet  it  may  be  doubted  whether  these 
were  among  the  primary  designs  of  this  record,  because  Moses 
is  not  in  the  habit  of  going  out  of  his  way  for  the  purpose 
merely  of  establishing  his  reputation  as  a  candid  historian.  A 
better  reply  is  that  the  facts  were  necessary  to  the  plan  of  the 
nari-ative.  The  mention  of  Noah's  sin  explains  the  impiety  of 
Ham  and  the  reverential  grief  of  Shem,  and  Japheth  ;  that, 
again,  explains  the  prophecy  of  Noah  respecting  the  three  great 
stocks  of  the  race  descending  from  the  three  brothers;  and  this 
prophecy,  in  its  turn,  contains  the  second  Messianic  promise, 
which  is  one  of  the  luminous  points  in  the  history.  The 
Moabites  and  Ammonites  were  the  descendants  of  Lot  and  his 
daughters.  Their  relations  to  the  Israelites,  both  geographical 
and  historical,  were  so  intimate  that  their  origin  and  the  con- 
sanguinity of  the  two  peoples  were  essential  parts  of  the 
history  of  the  chosen  seed.  As  instances  of  the  fulfilment  of 
God's  enjraoement  with  Abraham  to  bless  them  that  blessed 
him  and  curse  those  that  cursed  him,  the  author  describes  the 
interviews  of  the  patriarch  with  Pharaoh  and  Abimelech,  which, 
in  their  turn,  could  be  explained  only  by  the  mention  of  his 
prevarications.  In  order  to  an  intelligible  account  of  the  lapse 
of  the  birthright  from  Esau  to  Jacob,  the  writer  was  obliged 
to  set  forth  the  profaneness  of  Esau,  and  the  fraud  of  Jacob. 
Joseph's   transfer   to   Egypt   was   rooted   in   the   envy  of  his 

1  Henjcstenberg  :  Auth.  Pent.,  vol.  ii.  p.  432  seq.  Ilavcruich  :  Introd.  to  Pent, 
p.  187.    Kurtz:  Old  Cov.,  i.  p.  211  seq.    Princeton  Review,  1855. 


508  SACRED  HISTORY. 

brothers ;  and  the  historical  position  among  the  twelve  tribes 
held  by  Levi,  Simeon,  and  Reuben,  could  not  have  been  under- 
stood in  the  absence  of  a  record  of  the  cruelty  or  vices  of  their 
patriarchal  ancestors.  Moses  did  not  turn  to  the  right  to 
escape  the  mention  of  these  immoralities,  nor  to  the  left  to  lug 
them  into  his  narrative.  Every  incident  introduced  bears  a 
definite  relation  to  the  history;  nothing  essential  is  suppressed, 
nothing  irrelevant  is  admitted. 

As  a  further  answer  to  the  first  inquiry,  it  may  be  said  that 
the  mention  of  the  sins  of  holy  persons  answered  several 
spiritual  purposes.  The  Pentateuch  was  written  primarily  for 
the  Hebrews  of  the  time  of  Moses,  and  of  the  after-ages.  They 
were  arrogant,  boastful  of  their  own  piety,  and  of  the  virtues 
of  their  ancestors,  and  especially  of  the  three  patriarchs.  Our 
Saviour's  parable  of  the  Pharisee  and  publican  draws  a  pic- 
ture, wonderfully  life-like,  of  their  self-conceit  and  vainglory. 
No  corrective  to  these  evil  thoughts  more  humiliating  could 
be  devised  than  the  statements  of  Moses,  convicting  Noah  of 
intoxication  ;  Lot  of  intoxication  and  incest ;  Abraham,  Isaac, 
and  Jacob,  of  falsehood  and  deception  ;  the  incest  of  Reuben  in 
his  father's  bed ;  the  incest  of  Judah  in  his  son's  bed  ;  the 
treachery  and  cruelty  of  Simeon  and  Levi  at  Shechem  ;  and  the 
sale  of  Joseph  by  his  brothers.  Eighteen  hundred  years  later 
Stephen  recalled  the  bargain  and  sale  in  these  stinging  words  : 
"  Jacob  begat  the  twelve  patriarchs ;  and  the  patriarchs,  moved 
with  jealousy,  sold  Joseph  into  Egypt."  A  second  lesson 
brought  home  to  the  people  by  these  painful  reminiscences  is 
the  delusiveness  of  justification  by  works.  The  Jews  estab- 
lished themselves  in  that  heresy  by  resting,  not  in  saving 
faith,  but  in  the  merits  of  their  ancestors.  "We  have  Abraham 
to  our  father,"  was  the  ground  of  their  title  to  the  favor  of 
God.  Paul  met  the  argument  by  showing,  from  Moses,  that 
even  Abraham  was  justified  not  by  works,  but  by  faith.  The 
transgressions  of  that  patriarch,  and  of  the  other  holy  persons, 
warned  the  Jews  continually  that  they  all,  patriarchs  and  pos- 
teritj',  were  concluded  under  sin,  and  that  justification  could 
come  by  faith  only.     And,  thirdly,  these  delinquencies  taught 


CENSUEED   nv  BEING    liECORDED.  £09 

the  Jews  that  their  fathers  and  themselves,  the  children,  became 
the  chosen  seed  by  the  sovereign  act  of  God.  Why  did  God 
bestow  upon  them  his  supreme  blessings?  The  Jews  said  that 
their  fathers  were  holy  men,  and  deserved  them  all.  But 
Moses  opened  another  lesson  altogether  ;  proving  by  the  im- 
moralities of  their  ancestors,  from  Xoah  to  IMoses,  that  the 
ground  of  their  selection,  and  of  the  silent  rejection  of  the 
whole  human  race  around  them,  was  not  in  the  men  chosen, 
but  in  God  who  chose  them ;  so  that  tlie  purpose  of  God,  ac- 
cording to  election,  might  stand  not  of  works,  but  of  Him  that 
ealleth. 

II.  It  is  also  alleged,  and  not  to  be  denied,  that  the  sacred 
writer  contents  himself  with  mentioning  these  misdeeds,  and 
fails  to  pass  any  judgment  whatever  upon  them  or  their  authors. 
But  is  not  tlie  simple  record  a  sufficient  rebuke?  When  a  man 
of  high  character  falls  into  flagrant  sin,  and  his  misconduct  is 
perpetuated  in  the  history  of  the  Church  or  the  country,  he 
suffers  a  censure  of  terrible  severity.  The  shame  of  the  patri- 
archs, like  their  faith,  is  described  in  the  pages  of  the  most 
honest  and  public  record  on  earth.  It  is  held  by  millions  to  be 
the  word  of  God,  and,  therefore,  absolutely  unerring  in  every 
particular.  Not  a  jot  or  tittle  thereof  can  perish  ;  it  is  to  go 
down  to  all  generations;  it  is  to  be  translated  into  hundreds 
of  languages,  and  distributed  among  all  fapiilies ;  repeated 
publicly  in  religious  assemblies  everywhere ;  opened  from  the 
pulpit  in  sermons  and  expositions ;  discussed  from  the  press  in 
commentaries,  criticisms,  and  eager  controversies ;  the  text 
guarded  with  the  keenest  jealousy  against  gloss,  erasure,  and 
interpolation.  Such  is  the  publicity  given  to  the  misconduct 
of  the  holy  men.  And  more  than  that,  these  scriptures  reveal 
the  Divine  abhorrence  towards  these  veiy  transgi-essions,  — 
towards  intemperance,  impurity,  and  falsehood  ;  they  educate 
the  conscience  of  their  readers  to  partake  in  this  abhorrence ; 
and  they  are  accompanied  l)y  the  Holy  Spirit,  wliose  work  it  is 
to  establish  in  the  soul  a  hatred  of  sin,  —  a  hatred  the  more 
active  when  sin  defiles  tlie  character  of  the  just.  What  need 
was  there  that  Moses  should  rebuke  in  epithets  the  sins  of  the 


510  SACEED  EISTOEY. 

patriarchs,  after  he  had  administered  the  reprimand  of  a  candid, 
unimpassioned  statement  of  the  facts? 

Next,  the  narrative  is  so  constructed  as  to  reveal,  incidentally, 
the  direct  connection  between  these  delinquencies  and  their 
retribution.  Moses  does  not  go  out  of  his  way  to  point  this 
moral,  but  it  is  clearly  discoverable  in  what  he  says  with  other 
intents.  Noah  was  punished  by  the  contempt  which  Ham 
expressed  for  him,  by  the  curse  which  fell  upon  that  unnatural 
son,  and  by  the  mortification  experienced  by  Shem  and  Japheth. 
Lot  must  have  been  indescribably  humiliated  by  the  disgusting 
offence  of  himself  and  his  daughters.  Abraham  incurred  by  his 
duplicity  the  severe  rebuke  of  the  king  of  Egypt,  and  of  the 
Philistine  chief.  The  sin  of  Abraham  and  Sarah  in  the  matter 
of  Hagar  found  them  out  in  the  mockery  of  Ishmael.  Isaac, 
who  deceived  Abimelech,  was  himself  deceived  by  his  wife  and 
his  youngest  son.  Rebekah  was  punished  for  contriving  Jacob's 
theft,  by  her  final  separation  from  him,  so  that  she  died  without 
seeing  him  again.  Jacob  was  ignominiously  chased  out  of  his 
native  country ;  was  cheated  and  robbed  by  Laban,  as  he  had 
cheated  and  robbed  Esau ;  the  wife  whom  he  hated  became  the 
mother  of  the  royal  tribe  of  Judah,  and,  according  to  the  flesh, 
of  the  Son  of  God;  the  wife  whom  he  preferred  died  early,  and 
her  son,  whom  he  loved  more  than  he  loved  all  his  other  chil- 
dren, was  seized  and  sold  into  slavery  by  his  sons.  Jacob  had 
deceived  his  father,  and  was  in  turn  deceived  by  his  children. 
The  old  man,  overwhelmed  by  woes,  the  most  bitter  of  which 
can  be  traced  to  his  delinquencies,  cried  out,  when  he  was  one 
hundred  and  thirty  years  old,  "  Few  and  evil  have  been  the 
days  of  my  years."  Why  should  it  be  thought  strange  that 
the  historian,  having  recorded  the  Divine  chastisements  on  the 
holy  men,  reverently  withheld  his  own  gratuitous  censures? 
Even  the  heathen  writers  were  silent  in  the  presence  of  their 
Nemesis.  These  conclusions  are  strengthened  by  the  other 
characteristics  of  the  record.  One  of  these  is  its  treatment  of 
the  sins  of  wicked  men.  The  fratricide  of  Cain,  the  indecency 
of  Ham,  the  shamelessness  of  Lot's  daughters,  the  profaneness 
of  Esau,  and  the  bad  faith  of  Laban  are   mentioned  without 


NOT  A    TREATISE   ON  ETHICS.  511 

direct  animadversion.  Nor  do  the  sliiuing  virtues  of  the  patri- 
archs call  forth  from  the  author  expressions  of  admiration. 
Noah  alone,  of  all  the  living,  walked  with  God ;  Lot  was  the 
only  righteous  man  in  the  cities  of  the  plain ;  the  generosity, 
hospitality,  and  piety  of  Abraham,  and  his  many  acts  of  obedi- 
ence, crowned  by  the  sacrifice  of  Isaac,  are  every  way  memora- 
ble. The  wrestling  of  Jacob  with  the  Jehovah-Angel  is  the 
highest  example  in  the  Old  Testament  of  importunate  and  pre- 
vailing prayer.  And  yet  Moses  treats  with  impartial  reserve  all 
these  acts  of  faith  and  piety,  and  the  infirmities  and  sins  with 
which  they  were  associated.  He  set  forth  the  facts,  and  says 
no  more.  Indeed,  the  plan  of  the  history  precluded  him  from 
passing  judgment  on  either  the  virtues  or  delinquencies  of  man- 
kind. Not  that  he  was  insensible  to  virtue,  but  it  was  not 
made  his  duty  to  praise  the  righteous ,  not  that  he  was  indiffer- 
ent to  crime,  but  it  was  no  part  of  his  province  to  stigmatize 
the  wicked. 

If  the  Spirit  of  God  had  assigned  to  Moses  the  task  of  com- 
posing biographies  of  the  men  of  olden  times,  including  in 
detail  the  incidents  of  their  lives  and  an  estimate  of  their  char- 
acters ;  if  he  had  been  required  to  write  a  treatise  on  ethics, 
with  illustrations  drawn  from  real  life,  —  we  should  have  reason 
to  expect  that  lie  wt)uld  discuss  Cain  and  Abel,  Esau,  Jacob,  and 
Laban.  But  he  wrote  with  widely  different  purposes.  His 
immediate  design  was  to  set  forth  the  history  of  redemption , 
to  show  how  the  first  gospel,  the  promise  that  the  seed  of  the 
woman  should  bruise  the  serpent's  head,  was  progressively- 
unfolded.  His  final  purpose  Avas  to  exalt  Jehovah  of  hosts,  to 
show  his  power  and  his  glor}^  and  to  declare  his  mighty  acts* 
The  product  of  inspiration  is  strictly  historical.  The  Penta- 
teuch is  a  history  composed  on  a  pre-conceived  plan ;  it  adheres 
closely  to  its  primal  thought,  its  ideal,  —  the  glory  of  God  in  the 
redem[)tion  of  man.  No  i)lace  was  left  in  the  plan  for  a  disser- 
tation on  the  sius  of  tlie  patriarchs.  The  facts  in  regard  to 
them  are  related  because  they  were  essential  to  the  narrative, 
it  could  not  be  understood  without  them ,  but  comments  on 
them  were  superfluous  and  therefore  omitted.     Ilengstenbcrg 


512  SACRED   niSTOBY. 

tells  us  that  Hendework,  a  commentator  on  Isaiah,  in  expound- 
ing the  passage,  "  The  ass  knoweth  his  master's  crib,"  enter- 
tains his  readers  with  the  natural  history  of  the  ass,  pointing 
out  at  large  the  difference  between  the  Occidental  and  Oriental 
breeds ;  just  as  if  the  prophecy  of  Isaiah  was,  among  its  other 
excellences,  a  herd-book  of  asses.^  This  is  only  a  ludicrous 
exposure  of  the  delusion  that  the  Pentateuch  was  intended  to 
be  a  biographical  dictionary.  It  is  impossible  to  read  the  book 
aright  unless  we  be  guided  by  the  design  of  inspiration  in  its 
structure  and  composition. 

III.  The  remaining  condition  of  the  problem  raises  the  ques- 
tion whether,  in  the  peculiar  blessings  granted  to  the  patriarchs, 
the  Divine  Being  connived  at  their  sins.  The  precise  state  of 
the  question  should  be  apprehended.  The  question  does  not 
call  attention  to  the  spiritual  blessings  common  to  the  patriarchs 
and  to  all  the  children  of  God,  such  as  justification,  the  new 
birth,  and  eternal  life.  These  gifts  are  in  no  sense  a  connivance 
at  sin,  but  they  look  to  a  deliverance  therefrom.  Nor  does  the 
question  take  into  account  the  remaining  infirmities  of  pious 
men,  which  are  not  incompatible  with  a  state  of  grace.  In  that 
sense  the  long-suffering  and  favor  of  God  have  been  extended 
both  to  the  patriarchs  and  to  all  other  true  believers.  The 
difficulties  which  are  now  to  be  considered  emerge  from  the 
peculiar  benefits  which  were  bestowed  on  Abraham  and  his 
successors  in  the  patriarchy.  God  appeared  to  them  in  impos- 
ing theophanies  ;  he  made  them  parties  with  himself  to  special 
covenants ;  he  declared  their  family  to  be  his  Church  and 
kingdom  on  earth  ;  he  gave  to  them  and  their  posterity  the  land 
of  Canaan,  and  made  promise  that  their  race  should  give  birth 
to  the  Messiah,  and  that  in  them  and  in  their  seed  all  nations 
should  be  blessed.  Tlie  question  is  :  Did  not  their  delinquen- 
cies disqualify  them  for  a  position  and  destiny  so  exalted?  Is 
it  credible  that  God,  the  Most  Holy,  would  so  far  wink  at  sin 
as  to  choose  such  men  to  be  recipients  of  his  solemn  covenants 
and  revelations,  and  the  founders  of  his  Church?  To  these 
inquiries,  several  answers  may  be  proposed. 

1  Hengstenberg  :  Genuineness,  etc.,  ii.  p.  437. 


TRUSTEES  MORE    THAN  RECIPIENTS.  513 

In  the  first  place,  these  men  were  not  recipients  only,  but 
channels  also,  of  blessings.  If  they  had  been  called  for  their 
merits  only,  if  God's  mercies  had  terminated  on  them,  the 
problem  would  have  been  insoluble.  But  it  was  quite  other- 
wise. The  promises  were  made  not  only  for  themselves,  but 
for  their  offspring  after  them.  Indeed,  it  may  be  said  that  they 
were  more  the  trustees  than  the  beneficiaries  of  the  inheritance. 
To  Abraham  tlie  word  of  God  was,  "  To  thee  and  to  thy  seed 
will  I  give  this  land,"  ^  the  land  of  Canaan.  He  obtained  no 
fixed  possession  in  the  country,  except  a  place  for  the  burial 
of  his  dead.  Isaac  his  son  and  heir,  instead  of  coming  fully 
into  the  possession,  received  only  a  renewal  of  the  promise,  and 
died  a  pilgrim  and  stranger  there.  After  Isaac  Jacob,  and  after 
Jacob  the  twelve  patriarchs,  and  after  them  their  sons  and 
sons'  sons,  instead  of  enjoying  the  inheritance,  died  exiles 
and  slaves  in  Egypt.  Not  until  the  days  of  Joshua,  five  hun- 
dred and  thirty  years  after  the  original  grant,  did  the  chosen 
seed  enter  the  chosen  land.  Abraham,  and  the  several  genera- 
tions following  him,  were  heirs  onl}^  for  the  purpose  of  trans- 
mitting the  estate,  the  title  passing  through  them  without 
resting  in  them ;  not  actual  settlers  on  the  soil,  but  channels 
they  were,  through  whom  the  goodly  land  was  conveyed  to 
their  posterity.  The  same  is  true  of  the  consummate  blessings 
conveyed  in  the  covenant.  "  In  thy  seed  shall  all  nations  be 
blessed."  The  seed  here  promised  is  Christ,  and  the  blessing 
flowing  from  him  unto  all  nations  is  salvation  (Gal.  iii.  8-16). 
Both  the  Saviour  and  the  salvation  are  made  sure  not  to 
Abraham  only,  not  to  the  offspring,  near  or  remote,  of  Abraham 
alone,  but  through  them  to  all  true  believers  also,  whether  Jew 
or  Gentile.  The  original  grantees  were  not  sole  proprietors, 
but  joint  heirs  with  the  people  of  God,  born  and  to  be  born,  in 
every  saving  mercy  granted  to  Abraliain.  Trustees  they  were, 
holding  ever}'  word  of  truth  and  every  hope  of  eternal  life  as 
sacred  deposits,  to  be  enjoyed  by  them,  and  tlien  transmitted 
Avith  accumulating  riches  to  their  natural  descendants,  and  to 
the  outlying  millions  also  of  the  human  race.  On  supposition 
that  the  covenant  promises  were,  in  the  Divine  purpose,  the 


514  SACRED  HISTORY. 

sole  and  separate  possession  of  the  patriarchs,  like  money  given 
to  an  heir  with  liberty  to  spend  it  all,  the  objection  is  for- 
midable. So  soon  as  it  is  seen  that  they  were  the  channels 
through  which  these  benefits  flowed  to  their  posterity,  even 
the  most  remote,  and  to  the  wide  world  of  mankind  through 
a  thousand  generations,  the  objection  not  only  loses  much  of 
its  force,  but  ceases  to  be  even  plausible. 

In  the  second  place,  the  patriarchs  were  holy  men,  and,  as 
such,  were  better  qualified  to  be  the  representatives  of  the 
covenant  than  any  of  their  contemporaries.  No  account  has 
yet  been  taken  in  this  inquiry  of  their  faith  and  piety.  But 
these  are  integral  elements  in  the  problem,  and  their  real  value 
should  be  estimated.  Abraham  was  more  holy  than  any  other 
man  of  his  day,  so  far  as  we  have  knowledge  of  him  and 
of  them.  His  character  was  adorned  with  the  best  graces  of 
human  nature.  So  conspicuous  were  his  generosity,  hospitality, 
courage,  and  gentleness,  that  he  would  easily  pass  for  a  model 
of  these  manly  virtues.  But  these  qualities  were  less  remark- 
able than  his  faith  and  obedience.  Paul  points  out  several 
occasions  which  called  forth  these  gracious  affections,  closing 
the  series  with  that  wonderful"  manifestation  of  faith,  the  sacri- 
fice of  Isaac.  Whatever  may  be  thought  of  his  sins,  it  ought 
to  be  borne  in  mind  that  he  was,  of  all  his  contemporaries, 
the  best  qualified  by  Divine  grace  to  be  the  organ  of  Divine 
revelations,  the  human  party  to  the  covenants,  and  the  special 
vehicle  of  the  true  religion.  In  like  manner,  Isaac  was  better 
adapted  to  the  Divine  purposes  than  Ishmael,  and  Jacob  than 
either  Laban  or  Esau.  We  have  before  proved  that  the  char- 
acter of  Jacob  was  not  without  its  redeeming  traits.  Both 
Jacob  and  Rebekah,  as  Calvin  remarks,  exhibited  a  certain  kind 
of  faith  in  the  purposes  and  promises  of  God,  in  the  purchasing 
of  the  birthright  from  Esau,  and  obtaining  the  blessing  from 
Isaac.  The  conduct  of  Jacob  in  early  life  was  unworthy  of  his 
position  as  an  heir  to  the  covenant ;  but  in  his  latter  days, 
his  obedience  to  God,  his  spirit  of  prayer  in  his  wrestling  with 
the  angel,  his  faith  indicated  by  his  prophecies  respecting  his 
twelve  sons  and  his  blessings  on  the  sons  of  Joseph,  and  the 


TREATMENT  OF  GOOD  AND  BAD  MEN.  515 

commandment  which  he  gave  respecting  his  l)iuial  in  Canaan, 
all  show  that  the  grace  of  God  was  in  him,  though  mingled 
with  human  weakness.  A  fair  comparison  of  the  gentle  and 
humane  Jacob  with  the  boisterous,  sensual,  and  reckless  Esau, 
will  vindicate  the  choice  of  Jacob  over  Esau.  In  point  of  fact, 
"  before  either  was  born,  or  had  done  good  or  evil,"  God  chose 
Jacob  rather  than  Esau.  He  formed  the  younger  for  his  ser- 
vice, then  he  bestowed  upon  him  grace  which  fitted  him  for  his 
vocation,  notwithstanding  his  duplicity.  In  the  matter  of  the 
birthright,  Esau  was  profane  and  Jacob  deceitful.  But  God, 
who  does  not  allow  his  plans  to  be  defeated  by  the  imperfection 
of  his  instruments,  confirmed  his  covenant  in  Jacob,  rebuked 
and  chastened  him  sharply  for  his  sins,  and  granted  to  him 
repentance  unto  a  better  life,  so  that  he  died  in  peace  with 
God.  Esau  renounced  his  interest  in  the  offered  salvation, 
married  heathen  wives,  and  went  away  into  the  mountains  of 
Edom,  to  found  a  race  of  barbarians,  who  waged  merciless  war 
against  the  people  of  God. 

Perhaps  the  validity  of  the  foregoing  argument  ought  to  be 
still  further  tested.  That  may  be  done  by  applying  it  to  the 
dealings  of  God  with  the  persons,  good  and  bad,  whom  he 
called  into  his  service  in  the  after  ages.  These  may,  for  the 
present  purpose,  be  distributed  into  three  classes.  One  class 
is  made  up  of  godly  men  who  were  nevertheless  overtaken  by 
temptation ;  such  as  Moses,  Aaron,  Miriam,  Eli,  David,  Peter. 
Their  story  is  closely  analogous  to  that  of  the  patriarchs  as 
to  their  misbehavior,  the  record  made  of  it,  and  the  explana- 
tion. The  sacred  writers  describe  with  perfect  impartiality  the 
virtues  and  faults  of  these  men,  when  the  dominant  idea  of 
the  history  requires  that  to  be  done,  rarely,  however,  rendering 
any  judgment  of  their  own  upon  the  facts.  But  the  history 
is  so  constructed  as  to  humble  the  vainglory  of  the  Jews  in 
their  prophets,  priests,  and  kings,  and  to  show  that  they  were 
saved  by  grace,  through  faith,  which  was  the  gift  of  God. 
Farther,  the  record,  by  exposing  the  Aveakness  and  sinfulness 
of  the  distinguished  servants  of  God,  proves  that  the  choice 
which  God  made  of  them,  as  the  instruments  for  the  accom- 


516  SACKED  HISTOET. 

plisliment  of  his  gracious  purposes,  rested,  as  to  the  ground  of 
it,  not  on  their  merits,  but  on  liis  own  sovereign  will ;  that  this 
choice  looked  not  to  the  exaltation  of  the  chosen  vessels,  but 
to  the  salvation  of  the  race,  and,  as  its  chief  end,  to  the 
glory  of  Jehovah.  Finally,  as  if  to  exclude  the  conclusion 
from  the  blessings  bestowed,  that  God  shut  his  eyes  on  their 
sins,  the  sacred  record  points  out  the  direct  connection  between 
their  sins,  and  the  retributions  which  pursued  them.  The 
calamities  which  overwhelmed  David  in  his  old  age  afford  a 
striking  instance  of  Divine  retaliation.  What  was  peculiar  in 
his  sufferings  stood  face  to  face  with  what  was  peculiar  in  his 
crimes  in  the  matter  of  Uriah.  His  child,  and  the  child  also 
of  Uriah's  wife,  died;  Amnon  his  son  outraged  Tamar  his 
daughter;  another  son,  Absalom,  assassinated  the  culprit; 
Absalom  himself  formed  a  conspiracy  against  his  royal  father, 
seduced  Ahithophel  into  treason,  chased  his  fallen  father  out  of 
Jerusalem,  polluted  his  marriage-bed,  and  was  himself  ignomin- 
iously  slain,  and  dragged  to  a  dishonored  grave.  With  what 
pitiless  fur}-  did  lust,  treachery,  and  murder,  even  in  David, 
avenge  lust,  treachery,  and  murder  ! 

Other  persons,  although  destitute  of  the  fear  of  God,  came 
to  honor  in  the  patriarchy  and  theocracy.  These  fall  into  the 
second  class,  and  are  to  be  recognized  among  the  twelve  patri- 
archs, and  among  the  judges  and  kings  of  Judah.  The  relation 
of  the  sons  of  Jacob  to  the  covenant  of  circumcision  differed 
from  that  of  Abraham,  Isaac,  and  Jacob.  At  the  first,  the 
chosen  seed  was  in  the  patriarch  severally,  and  his  personal 
faith  was  an  indispensable  requisite.  In  Jacob's  household  the 
chosen  seed  began  to  expand  into  a  multitude,  and  a  distinction 
arose  between  those  among  them  who  represented  the  covenant 
visibly  onlj^  and  those  of  them  who  were  also  the  true  children 
of  God.  There  were  ever  afterwards  an  Israel  according  to 
the  flesh,  and  an  Israel  according  to  the  spirit ;  they  were  not 
all  Israel  who  were  of  Israel;  there  was  an  election  within 
an  election  (Rom.  ix.).  In  Jacob's  family,  Joseph  represented 
the  spiritual  seed ;  if  the  last  days  of  Reuben,  Simeon,  and 
Levi  were  no  better  than  their  earlier  days,  their  relation  to 


JEHOVAH'S  STBANGE  INSTRUMENTS.  517 

God  was  the  same  with  the  relation  to  God  of  the  uiil)clieviiig 
Jews  in  all  generations.  God  showed  extraordinav}^  favor  to 
them,  notwithstanding  their  sins,  to  the  end  that  they  might 
become  channels  of  salvation  to  the  spiritual  children  of 
Abraham,  Jews  and  Gentiles.  The  judges  were  not  persons 
ecclesiastical,  nor  was  the  office  recognized  in  the  Sinaitic 
legislation.  They  were  extraordinary  regents  or  dictators, 
divinely  appointed  to  repel  the  raids  of  the  barbarians.  They 
sustained  to  the  theocracy,  for  the  time  being,  the  relation  held 
by  military  chiefs  to  modern  states.  God  bestowed  upon  them 
■supernatural  wisdom,  courage,  and  physical  strength,  for  the 
protection  of  his  people  against  the  heathen.  Their  virtues 
and  their  vices  are  treated  in  the  record  according  to  the 
principles  already  defined.  There  were  also  in  the  dynasty 
of  David  three  classes  of  kings :  those  like  Asa,  whose  hearts 
were  perfect  with  the  Lord ;  those  like  Amaziah,  who  did  right 
in  the  sight  of  the  Lord,  but  not  with  a  perfect  heart  (2  Chron. 
XXV.  2) ;  and  those  like  Ahaz  and  Manasseh,  who  did  wickedly. 
All  of  them  wore  the  crown  of  David,  were  the  viceroys  of 
Jehovah,  and  the  ancestors  of  Christ.  But  tlie  wicked  kings 
may  be  dismissed  from  our  thought,  with  the  observation  that 
they  were  little  more  than  links  connecting  David  and  David's 
Lord ;  that  their  renown  was  an  accident  of  their  birth  into  the 
royal  family,  that  their  throne  was  upheld  by  the  Almighty  for 
his  own  gracious  purposes,  and  that  their  crimes  did  not  go 
unpunished. 

Besides  these,  God  used,  as  his  instruments,  such  men  as 
Cyrus,  Balaam,  and  Judas  Iscariot.  Cyrus  was  a  heathen  soldier 
selected  by  the  Almighty  to  release  his  peo]ile  from  captivity 
in  Babylon.  lie  was  an  idolater,  and  did  not  know  Jehovah, 
3'et  God  called  him  his  shepherd,  his  anointed;  he  promised 
to  break  in  pieces  the  gates  of  brass,  and  to  cut  in  sunder  the 
bars  of  iron  before  the  advancing  legions.  To  what  end  ?  To 
the  renown  of  Cyrus  and  the  glory  of  the  Persian  army?  Not 
so ;  but  to  the  end  that  God's  chosen  people  might  be  delivered 
from  their  enemies,  and  that  all  men  from  "the  rising  of  the 
sun,  and  from  the  west,"  might  know  that  he  is  Jehovah,  and 


518  SACEED  HISTORY. 

there  is  none  else  (Isa,  xliv.  28,  xlv.  1-6).  God  bestowed  upon 
Balaam  the  gift  of  prophecy,  and  on  Judas  the  power  to  heal 
the  sick  and  cast  out  devils.  It  would  be  a  waste  of  words  to 
frame  them  into  an  argument  denying  what  nobody  believes, 
that  these  endowments,  albeit  they  were  unquestionably  from 
God,  were  tokens  of  the  Divine  favor  towards  the  strolling 
magician  of  Midian  and  the  traitor  among  Christ's  disciples. 

In  the  work  of  redemption,  an  everlasting  kingdom  is  estab- 
lished, an  irresistible  power  is  developed,  and  a  supreme  glory 
floods  the  firmament.  But  the  kingdom  and  the  power  and  the 
glory  are  of  God.  Patriarch,  prophet,  apostle,  martyr,  these  are 
but  worms  of  the  dust.  God,  the  uncreated,  unbegotten,  un- 
changing, unending  One,  is  all  in  all.  Herodotus  composed  a 
history,  so  he  himself  declares,  in  order  that  the  deeds  done  by 
man  might  not  be  forgotten,  and  that  the  great  and  wonderful 
exploits  of  the  Greeks  and  the  barbarians  might  not  go  into 
oblivion.  But  so  humbling  was  the  impression  left  on  Daniel 
by  the  study  of  the  Old-Testament  Scriptures,  that  he  ex- 
claimed, "  O  Lord,  to  us  belongeth  confusion  of  face,  to  our 
kings,  to  our  princes,  to  our  fathers,  because  we  have  sinned 
against  thee.  To  the  Lord  our  God  belong  mercies  and  forgive- 
nesses." Herein  is  discovered  the  radical  difference  between  the 
sacred  school  and  the  profane  school  of  ancient  history. 


AUTHOR  OF  THE  PENTATEUCH,  519 


CHAPTER  XXXV. 

SUPPLEilENTARY. 

That  Moses  was  the  author  and  writer  of  the  Pentateuch,  is 
proved  by  the  concurrent  testimony  of  the  book  itself,  of  the 
later  historians  and  prophets  of  the  Old  Testament,  and  most 
distinctly  by  the  testimony  of  the  Lord  Jesus,  his  evangelists 
and  apostles.  Christ  introduces  Father  Abraham  in  the  heavenly 
world  as  linking  together  the  writings  of  IMoses  with  the  Avrit- 
ings  of  the  prophets  (Luke  xvi.  29).  Our  Lord  also  certifies 
to  the  authorship  of  the  book,  cites  the  witness  of  Moses  to  his 
own  Divine  authority,  and  couples  the  writings  of  Moses  with 
his  own  infallible  words  (John  v.  46,  47).  The  best  Jewish 
autliorities,  with  Josephus  and  the  Christian  Church  through 
its  ancient  Fathers  and  most  approved  modern  scholars,  ascribe 
the  work  to  Moses.  Such  is  the  sufficiency  of  the  external  evi- 
dence ;  the  internal  evidence  is  not  less  convincing. 

The  greatness  of  the  man  and  of  his  work  is  distinctly  recog- 
nized by  biblical  scholars,  and  by  every  writer  who  has  con- 
sidered his  place  in  history.  Bishop  Wilberforce — and  few 
Avere  better  qualified  to  be  heard  on  the  subject  —  speaks  of 
Moses  as  "  the  sage  learned  in  Eg3^ptian  lore ;  the  great  soul 
mighty  in  word  and  deed  ;  the  deep  philosophic  intellect  fur- 
nished with  all  transmitted  'udsdom  .  .  .  sul)jocted  to  a  mighty 
change,"  making  the  man  of  power  into  the  man  of  God,  the 
noble  philosophical  patriarch  into  the  prophet  of  the  Lord.^  If 
this  estimate  of  Moses  be  accepted,  the  treatment  which  his 
character  receives  from  the  author  of  the  Pentateuch,  if  the 
author  was  other  than  Closes,  is  inexplicable.  Nothing  is  saiil 
1  Heroes  of  Hcb.  Hist.,  i)i).  110,  111. 


520  SACBED  HISTORY. 

by  this  writer  of  the  time  when  Moses  was  removed  from  the 
house  of  his  Hebrew  mother  to  the  pahice  of  Pharaoh's  daughter  ; 
nothing  of  liis  learning  in  all  the  wisdom  of  Egypt ;  nothing  of 
his  age  when  he  fled  from  Egypt.  That  these  facts  were  worth 
preserving,  is  made  plain  by  the  diligence  of  Stephen  in  supply- 
ing them  nearly  two  thousand  years  later  (Acts  vii.).  The  Book 
of  Exodus  describes,  in  the  smallest  number  of  words,  his  flight 
to  ]Midian,  his  reception  in  the  family  of  Jethro,  his  marriage, 
and  the  birth  of  his  two  sons ;  omitting  every  thing  else  that 
occurred  during  an  exile  of  forty  years,  down  to  the  theophany 
of  the  bush.  What  passed  between  INIoses  and  Aaron  when 
they  met  at  Horeb,  and  in  their  journey  to  Egypt,  is  condensed 
into  six  lines  of  the  narrative.  If  we  ascribe  its  authorship  to 
Moses,  bearing  distinctly  in  mind  his  characteristic  modesty 
and  self-forgetfulness,  all  this  reserve  in  regard  to  his  early 
life  and  training  is  accounted  for :  otherwise  it  remains  to  be 
explained. 

Still  more  remarkable  is  the  co-existence,  in  the  record,  of 
a  recognition  of  the  weaknesses  of  Moses  with  an  apparent 
unconsciousness  of  his  greatness.  The  historian,  whoever  he 
was,  is  alive  to  the  vainglory  of  Moses  in  thinking  that  God 
would  by  his  hand  deliver  the  people  from  slavery ;  to  his  im- 
petuosity in  striking  the  first  blow ;  to  his  act  of  unjustifiable 
homicide ;  to  his  flight  from  the  anger  of  Pharaoh.  But  how 
shall  we  account  for  the  omission  by  the  writer  of  the  other 
aspects  of  the  case  ?  Nothing  is  better  established  than  the 
presence  in  Moses,  amidst  all  his  indiscretions,  of  an  heroic 
faith,  by  force  of  which  he  renounced  his  position  as  the 
adopted  son  of  the  Egyptian  princess,  identified  himself  with 
the  afflicted  people  of  God,  preferring  the  reproach  of  Christ 
to  all  the  treasures  of  Egypt,  and  looking  for  the  recompense 
of  reward.  Such  an  exposure  of  his  weaknesses,  and  suppres- 
sion of  his  greatness,  we  might  expect  if  assured  that  jNIoses 
was  the  author,  but  not  if  we  suppose  that  the  narrative  was 
composed  by  one  of  his  successors. 

The  text  describes,  moreover,  the  almost  irreverent  perti- 
nacity with  which  he  resisted  the  Divine  call  at  Horeb.     He 


3fOSES    WBITING  ABOUT  MOSES.  521 

was,  lie  said  tc^  Jehovali,  unworthy  of  the  honor ;  Israel  would 
not  know  who  had  sent  him  into  Egypt ;  they  would  not 
believe  that  God  had  appeared  to  him  in  the  bush;  he  was 
a  stammerer.  After  the  Almighty  had  removed  all  his  scruples, 
and  ch)thed  him  with  the  power  of  miracles,  he  confessed 
that,  in  point  of  fact,  he  was  unwilling  to  go  to  Egypt. 
Thereupon  the  "  anger  of  Jehovah  was  kindled  against  iMoses." 
Even  on  his  way  to  Eg^pt  the  Lord  threatened  to  kill  him  for 
having  neglected  to  circumcise  his  youngest  son  (Exod.  iii.,  iv.). 
Still  further,  his  courage  in  confronting  Pharaoh  is  not  com-  * 
mended  in  terms  ;  but  his  impatient  remonstrance  with  God, 
wlien  his  first  application  for  the  relief  of  the  people  brought 
upon  them  increased  sufferings,  is  recorded  (Exod.  v.  22,  23). 
The  Avriter  is  careful  to  say  that  Joshua,  not  JNIoses,  repelled, 
with  force  of  arms,  the  attack  of  Amalek  in  the  wilderness ; 
and  Jethro,  not  INIoses,  organized  the  tribunal  of  associate 
judges.  He  relates,  also,  how  Moses  shrunk  from  self-defence 
when  assailed  by  Aaron  and  Miriam.  His  despondenc}'  at  the 
Graves  of  Lust,  and  his  impiety  at  the  waters  of  ]\Ieribah,  are 
faithfully  set  forth,  together  Avith  the  sentence  wliich  shut  him 
out  of  the  promised  land  (Xum.  xi. ;  Exod.  xvii.),  and  the 
execution  of  the  sentence.  The  exposure  of  his  faults  is 
nowhere  attended  by  distinct  commendations  of  his  courage, 
wisdom,  and  forbearance,  or  of  his  readiness  at  any  moment  to 
hiv  down  his  life  for  the  glory  of  God  and  the  welfare  of  Israel. 
The  contrast  is  instructive  between  the  studied  reserve  of  the 
Pentateuch  in  regard  to  the  greatness  of  Moses,  and  the  last 
chajjter  of  the  book  describing  his  mysterious  death  and  burial, 
closing  with  the  eulogy,  "And  there  arose  not  a  prophet  since 
in  Israel  like  unto  Moses,  Avhom  the  Lord  knew  face  to  face  " 
(Dent,  xxxiv.  10-12).  Accepting  the  book  as  the  production 
of  Moses,  breathing  everywhere  his  characteristic  self-abnega- 
tion, and  treating  the  last  chapter  as  an  addition  by  another 
hand,  the  case  is  cleared  up.  But  on  su])position  that  the  five 
books  were  composed  by  another,  we  have  an  inspired  autlior  in 
wIk^hi  the  historical  spirit,  exceedingly  clear-sighted  elsewhere, 
is    strangely  blind  to    that   glory   which,  as    Ewald   ol)servcs. 


522  SACRED  HISTORY. 

"  rose  as  never  sun  rose  before  to  be  perfectly  and  permanently 
manifested  in  Moses."  ^ 

The  accuracy  of  jNIoses  in  liis  treatment  of  the  manners, 
habits,  laws,  and  religion  of  Egypt,  furnishes  additional  proof 
of  the  authenticity  of  the  Pentateuch  and  of  the  Divine 
inspiration  of  its  author.  Traces  of  the  language  spoken  in 
Egypt  appear  in  the  proper  names,  —  Pharaoh,  Potiphar,  Zaph- 
nath-paaneah  (Joseph's  new  name),  and  Asenath  his  wife.  The 
name  of  the  Hebrew  lawgiver  himself  is  Egyptian,  —  Moses 
signifying  "drawn  out,"  as  from  the  water.  Canon  Cook  has 
prepared  a  list  of  about  thirty-five  words  derived  from  roots, 
either  common  to  Egyptian  and  Hebrew  or  found  onl}^  in 
Egyptian.^  The  sacred  writer  perpetuates  a  minute  but  notice- 
able sign  of  Jacob's  residence  in  Egypt.  In  the  blessing  on 
Joseph's  sons,  he  said,  "  Let  them  grow  into  a  multitude  in  the 
midst  of  the  earth "  (Gen.  xlviii.  16).  Instead  of  the  word 
"  grow,"  the  margin  of  the  English  Bible  reads,  "  Eeh.,  as  fishes 
do  increase."  According  to  Keil,  the  Hebrew  word  for  "grow  " 
or  "  increase  "  is  used  nowhere  else,  and  from  it  is  derived  the 
Hebrew  word  dd[/  or  fish,  on  account  of  their  rapid  multiplica- 
tion. In  the  parts  of  Canaan  with  which  Jacob  was  familiar, 
there  were  beasts  and  birds,  but  no  fish.  In  Egypt  the  streams 
were  alive  with  fishes,  and  they  supplied  him  with  a  happy 
metaphor  in  which  to  clothe  his  thought. 

The  acquaintance  of  Moses  with  the  geography  of  the  coun- 
try is  shown  in  his  allusions  to  the  principal  towns,  as  Zoan, 
Migdol,  Pithom,  Rameses,  and  On  ;  in  what  he  says  of  the  Nile, 
of  the  bulrushes  and  marsh-grass  on  the  brink  or  "  lip  "  of  the 
river;  of  the  fertile  meadows  and  wheat-lands;  of  the  "streams 
and  rivers,  and  ponds  and  pools  of  water"  supplied  by  the 
parent  Nile ;  of  the  fisheries ;  of  the  barley,  wheat,  leeks, 
onions,  melons,  figs,  grapes,  and  pomegranates.  The  narrative 
is  illustrated  by  pen-and-ink  pictures  of  life  in  Egypt.  The 
position  of  Joseph  in  the  family  of  Potiphar,  with  his  access  to 
the  house  and  wife  of  his  master,  is  true  to  the  usages  of  the 
people.  A  papyrus  in  the  British  Museum  deciphered  by 
1  Speak.  Com.,  i.  p.  240.  2  Speak.  Com.,  vol.  i.  p.  244. 


FAMILIABITY   WITH  EGYPT.  523 

Brugscli  tells  the  story,  written  for  a  prince  of  Rameses  II.,  of  a 
temptation  almost  exactly  in  form  and  result  like  that  to  which 
Joseph  was  exposed.  Ebers  declares  that  the  sacred  record 
contains  nothing  which  does  not  accurately  correspond  to  a 
court  of  the  Pharaoh  in  the  best  times  of  the  kingdom.^  The 
autocracy  of  the  king,  the  position  of  the  priesthood,  the  art  of 
magic  and  serpent-charming,  the  influence  of  the  adepts  therein, 
the  vast  public  works,  the  labors  upon  them  of  foreigners  ami 
slaves,  the  habits  of  the  taskmasters,  the  preparation  of  sun- 
dried  bricks  out  of  clay  and  straw,  are  thoroughly  Egyptian. 
The  ruling  classes  abhorred  all  shepherds ;  they  habitually  sus- 
pected foreigners  to  be  spies ;  the  women,  although  dissolute, 
were  not  locked  up  after  the  Oriental  custom ;  the  magicians 
divined  by  the  use  of  cups  (Gen.  xliv.  5);  the  people  sat,  rather 
than  reclined,  at  the  table ;  in  years  of  plenty  they  stored  up 
grain  against  years  of  scarcity ;  they  used  horses,  and  chariots 
of  war.  ]\Ioses  is  no  less  exact  in  his  allusions  to  the  now  lost 
art  of  embalming  the  bodies  of  the  dead ;  to  the  importation  of 
spices  used  in  the  art ;  to  the  time  (forty  days)  required  for 
the  process ;  to  the  period  of  seventy  days,  devoted  to  the 
offices  of  mourning  for  persons  of  rank ;  and  to  the  vociferous 
lamentations  of  the  survivors.  The  minute  fact  is  stated,  that 
Joseph  applied  through  others,  not  in  person,  to  the  king  for 
leave  to  remove  Jacob's  remains  to  Hebron  ;  the  explanation 
being  that  according  to  the  manner  of  the  Hebrews  the  mourner 
allowed  his  beard  and  hair  to  grow,  but  according  to  the  eti- 
quette of  the  court  none  might  come  unshaven  into  the  royal 
presence.  In  the  dream  of  the  chief  butler,  the  vine  with  its 
clusters;  in  the  dream  of  the  chief  baker,  the  wicker  baskets  of 
bakemeats  borne  upon  his  head ;  and  in  the  dream  of  the  king, 
the  lean  and  the  fat  kine  and  the  thin  and  the  full  rows  of 
wheat,  —  are  all  true  to  the  Egyptian  use  and  wont. 

The  record  affords  persuasive  evidence  of  its  Divine  inspira- 
tion in  the  Egyptian  coloring  which  it  excludes,  as  well  as  thai 
which  it  employs.  Moses  received  a  complete  education  in  the 
various  branches  of  Egyptian  learning  (Acts  vii.  22).     It  is  no 

1  Ladd:  Doctrine,  etc.,  i.  390. 


524  SACEED  niSTOEY. 

impeacliment  of  his  inspiration,  to  suggest  that  he  received 
as  true  the  errors,  and  even  the  absurdities,  current  in  his  day. 
But  the  errors  and  extravagances  under  which  he  may  have 
hibored  in  regard  to  science,  and  to  the  impossible  ages  and 
fabulous  dynasties  of  Egypt,  serve  only  to  illustrate  the  Divine 
quality  in  the  inspiration  which  prevented  him  from  giving 
place,  among  the  sacred  oracles,  to  any  of  these  fictions  and 
follies.  Nor  do  we  discover  a  trace  in  his  pages  of  any  faith 
in  the  mythology  of  the  Egyptians,  in  their  dogma  of  the 
transmigration  of  souls,  or  in  the  dependence  of  the  soul  for  its 
future  life  on  the  preservation  of  the  body.  Although  these 
ideas  ruled  in  the  thought  of  Egypt,  built  the  Pyramids,  in- 
spired the  art  of  embalming,  transformed  the  remains  of  the 
dead  into  undecaying  mummies,  and  set  them  in  pictured  walls 
or  gorgeous  tombs,  yet  not  one  of  the  religious  errors  involved 
in  these  customs  finds  its  way  into  the  writings  of  Moses.  As 
a  scholar  he  may  have  been  egregiously  misled  in  his  private 
opinions,  but  as  an  inspired  prophet  he  was  unerring  in  his 
utterances. 

It  is  too  late  in  the  progress  of  biblical  learning,  to  question 
the  position  of  the  Pentateuch  as  a  veritable  history.  It  is  not 
a  collection  of  unrelated  fragments  like  the  newspaper,  nor  a 
mosaic  of  annals  or  memoirs  or  miscellanies ;  nor  is  it  the  work 
of  two  or  more  authors.  It  is  a  history  written  by  one  person, 
upon  a  preconceived  and  orderly  plan.  Such  is  the  deliberate 
judgment  of  some  of  the  highest  authorities  among  the  ration- 
alists. Ewald,  the  celebrated  Gottingen  professor,  does  not 
believe  that  the  book  was  written  l)y  iNIoses,  or  that  its  histori- 
cal statements  are  all  true.  He  does  not  scruple  to  assert  that 
the  "  name  of  the  author  will  probaljly  be  veiled  from  us  in 
eternal  obscurity."  But  on  the  same  page  he  declares  that 
'•  rarely  has  so  great  a  mind  devoted  itself  to  the  composition 
of  history."  On  another  page  he  remarks  that  the  Book  of 
Genesis,  "  above  all  other  books,  displays  a  grand,  fixed  arrange- 
ment, and  a  masterly  disposition,  of  the  immense  subject."  ^ 
The  conjecture  is  plausible,  although  it  cannot  be  proved,  that 

1  Ewald:  Hist.  Israel,  i.  pp.  95-97,  note. 


THE  liEAL  NEXUS  IN  GENESIS.  525 

Moses,  in  composing  the  Book  of  Genesis,  made  use  of  certain 
documents  far  older  than  his  time,  containing  memoirs,  biogra- 
phies, and  genealogical  registers ;  and  that  these  documents 
were  themselves  inspired,  or,  in  default  of  that  quality,  were 
rewritten  by  Moses,  under  Divine  guidance,  and  reduced  to  the 
form  of  a  methodical  and  consecutive  narrative.^ 

In  no  other  history  are  the  sequences  closer  or  more  obvious. 
The  succession  of  events  is  not  simply  chronological :  it  traces 
the  progressive  unfolding  of  the  plan  of  redemption.  The 
creation  of  the  Avorld  and  of  man  connects  itself  with  the  his- 
tory of  Eden,  beginning  with  man's  first  disobedience,  proceed- 
ing thence  by  natural  sequences  to  the  sentence  passed  upon 
him  and  his  expulsion  from  paradise,  and  to  the  first  promise  of 
the  Saviour,  with  the  prophecy  of  the  antagonism  between  the 
seed  of  the  woman  and  the  seed  of  the  serpent.  This  prophecy 
prepares  the  way  for  the  murder  of  Abel,  the  seed  of  the 
woman,  by  Cain,  the  seed  of  the  serpent ;  the  substitution  of 
Seth  for  Abel ;  the  multiplication  of  the  Sethites  and  the 
Cainites  ;  the  moral  antagonism  between  the  sons  of  God 
among  the  former,  and  the  children  of  the  Devil  among  the 
latter ;  the  untoward  amalgamation  of  the  two  races  ;  the  in- 
evitable corruption  of  all  mankind ;  terminating  by  the  necessi- 
ties of  Divine  justice  in  the  Deluge.  To  Noah,  the  second 
father  of  the  race,  and  to  his  three  sons,  the  renovated  earth 
is  "granted  as  a  possession.  The  history  now  starts  afresh  with 
the  appearance  of  the  seed  of  the  woman  in  Shem,  and  the 
seed  of  the  serpent  in  Ham.  The  story  shows  how  another 
apostasy  arose  with  the  birth  of  heathenism  at  the  Tower  of 
Babel,  how  tliat  degeneracy  was  avungcd  Ijy  the  confusion  of 
tongues,  and  the  dispersion  of  mankind,  and  how  heathenism 
became  dominant  in  all  the  families  and  nations.  This  pre- 
pares the  way  for  the  introduction  of  a  new  era  in  the  kingdom 
of  God,  the  segregation  of  Abraham  from  the  idolatrous  Chal- 
dees,  the  removal  of  himself  and  his  wife  to  the  land  of  Canaan, 
and  the  establishment  with  him  and  his  posterity  of  the  cove- 
nant of  circumcision,  —  the  formative  })rinciple  of  the  new  era. 
1  Kawliusou:  Aids  to  Faith,  p.  280, 


526  SACBED  HISTORY. 

Then  follows,  by  natural  sequence,  the  transfer  of  the  inherit- 
ance to  Isaac  and  Jacob  as  the  sole  heirs,  and  to  Jacob's  twelve 
sons  as  the  joint  heirs,  of  the  covenant.  The  sojourn  in  Egypt 
besran  with  Jacob  and  his  sons,  and  lasted  four  hundred  and 
thirty  years.  Reversing  here  the  chronological  order  of  the 
history,  it  is  easy  to  tell  off  the  links  in  the  chain  of  events 
which  united  the  end  with  the  beginning  of  this  period.  The 
exodus  is  explained  by  the  ten  wonders  in  Egypt.  The  won- 
ders were  occasioned  by  the  bondage  in  Egypt,  and  the  obstinacy 
of  the  reigning  king.  The  bondage  of  the  Hebrews  presupposes 
their  removal  from  Canaan  to  Egypt,  and  that  could  not  be 
understood  Without  information  in  regard  to  the  seven-years 
famine  in  both  lands ;  and  that  leads  back  to  the  story  of 
Joseph,  to  the  bargain  and  sale  in  virtue  of  which  he  was 
carried  into  Egypt,  and  the  favor  of  God  whereby  he  was  ex- 
alted to  power.  Ewald's  estimate  of  the  masterly  disposition 
of  this  immense  and  complicated  subject  is  not  excessive. 

The  reader's  sense  of  the  unity  and  progress  of  the  narrative 
is  quickened  by  an  examination  of  the  Messianic  promises 
recorded  in  the  Book  of  Genesis.  They  are  four  in  number. 
The  series  is  introduced  by  the  first  gospel,  and  is  to  the  effect 
that  the  seed  of  the  woman  shall  bruise  the  serpent's  head 
(Gen.  iii.  15).  Noah,  speaking  by  inspiration,  uttered  the 
second :  "  Blessed  be  the  Lord  God  of  Shem  ;  "  "  He  [the  Lord 
God]  shall  dwell  in  the  tents  of  Shem "  (ix.  26,  27).  The 
third  was  revealed  by  God  to  Abraham :  "  In  thy  seed  shall 
all  the  nations  of  the  earth  be  blessed ; "  "  And  to  thy  seed, 
which  is  Christ"  (Gen.  xxii.  18;  Gal.  iii.  16).  The  dying 
Jacob  made  known  the  fourth  :  "  The  sceptre  shall  not  depart 
from  Judah,  nor  a  lawgiver  from  between  his  feet,  until  Shiloh 
come ;  and  unto  him  shall  the  gathering  of  the  people  be " 
(Gen.  xlix.  10).  These  promises  exhibit  several  noteworthy 
characteristics.  First,  they  were  made  to  representative  men, 
in  recognition  of  the  principle  of  headship  abundantly  asserted 
in  the  word  of  God.  Adam  was  the  progenitor  of  the  race, 
and  a  contracting  party  to  the  covenant  of  works ;  Noah  was 
the  second  father  of  the  race,  and  a  contracting  party  to  the 


LIGHTS  IN   THE  LONG   GLOOM.  527 

covenant  of  forljearance;  Abraham  was  the  father  of  the  faith- 
ful, and  a  contracting  party  to  the  covenant  of  circumcision ; 
Jacob  was  the  patriarch  of  the  promised  seed,  the  progenitor  of 
the  royal  tribe  of  Judah,  which  gave  David  and  Solomon,  and 
the  long  line  of  kings  their  lawful  successors,  to  the  visible 
kingdom  of  God,  and  which  got  the  crowning  glory  of  giving 
birth  to  the  Redeemer  of  the  world.  Next,  tlie  promises  served 
to  mark  the  great  epochs  in  sacred  history,  —  the  Fall,  the  Flood, 
the  call  of  Abraham,  and  the  sojourn  in  Egypt.  Each  of  these 
significant  points  in  the  history  is  illuminated  by  a  distinct 
promise  of  the  Messiah.  Again,  these  promises  were  uttered 
in  the  gloomy  periods  of  the  primitive  ages.  The  apostasy  of 
our  first  parents  plunged  the  race  into  an  estate  of  sin  and 
misery  apparently  remediless ;  but  a  remedy  was  immediately 
indicated  in  the  first  gospel.  Another  apostasy,  all  but  total, 
occurred  ;  the  race,  eight  souls  excepted,  perished  in  the  Flood ; 
but  Noah,  standing  amidst  the  ruins  of  the  old  world,  was 
inspired  to  utter  a  new  word  of  hope  for  the  guilty.  Then, 
afterwards,  the  groups  of  nations  descending  from  Japheth  and 
Ham  forgot  God  in  their  dispersions;  and  Shem,  though  in 
the  line  of  promise,  established  idolatry  on  the  banks  of  the 
Euphrates  (Josh.  xxiv.  2).  God  interposed  once  more,  appointed 
Abraham  to  found  the  visible  Church,  giving  to  him  a  new 
promise  of  the  Saviour.  About  two  hundred  years  later,  when 
the  people  of  God  were  strangers  in  the  land  of  Egypt,  and 
were  doomed  to  a  hard  and  bitter  bondage,  Jehovah  opened 
the  lips  of  Jacob  to  pronounce  the  word  Shiloh,  the  name  of 
the  Prince  of  peace.  Lastl}^  these  several  promises  become 
more  and  more  distinct  as  the  series  proceeds.  The  first  gave 
a  general  assurance  of  victory  to  the  seed  of  the  woman,  and 
there  rested.  Noah  informed  his  children  that  this  deliverance 
should  come  in  the  family  of  Shem.  God  told  Abraham  that 
the  salvation  should  spring  up  in  the  bosom  of  his  posterity, 
and  flow  thence  to  all  the  world.  Jacob  revealed  for  the  first 
time  the  assurance  that  the  redemption  should  be  wrouglit  out, 
not  by  some  favored  and  holy  company  of  people,  but  by  tlie 
labors  and  suffering  of  one  Saviour,  even  Shiloh.     These  prom- 


528  SACRED  HISTOBY. 

ises  disclose,  still  further,  the  process  by  which  the  promised 
seed  was  limited.  In  the  first  of  the  series,  it  is  declared  that 
the  Deliverer  shall  proceed  from  the  seed  of  the  woman,  or  from 
the  human  race  as  a  whole ;  in  the  second,  the  line  of  descent 
is  narrowed  down  to  the  line  of  Shem  ;  in  the  third,  it  is  still 
further  narrowed  down  to  the  posterity  of  Abraham ;  in  the 
fourth,  to  that  of  Judah,  all  the  side  branches  in  every  genera- 
tion being  broken  off. 

Abrara,  leaving  Ur  of  the  Chaldees  to  go  to  another  coun- 
try, went  out,  not  knowing  whither  he  went:  the  Hebrews 
quitting  Egypt  at  the  exodus  were  better  informed.  Abram 
arrived  at  Shechem,  a  stranger  and  a  pilgrim  in  his  new  home  : 
the  Hebrews  entered  the  promised  land,  rejoicing  in  their 
assured  inheritance.  Traditions  respecting  the  old  patriarchs 
had  been  kept  alive  among  their  descendants.  Great  com- 
panies of  them  had  visited  Canaan  for  the  burial  of  Jacob,  and 
repeatedly  afterwards  for  the  burial  of  eleven  of  Jacob's  sons ; 
and  the  mummy  of  Joseph  was  with  them  in  their  journey 
through  the  wilderness.  But,  what  was  far  more  valuable,  they 
were  in  possession  of  the  writings  of  Moses ;  for  his  death  before 
the  Jordan  was  reached  renders  it  certain  that  his  five  books 
were  finished  during  the  wandering.  The  Book  of  Genesis  was 
in  some  sort  a  word-map,  pointing  out  the  spots  where  the 
patriarchs  had  built  their  altars,  —  altars  divinely  hallowed  by 
theophanies:  Shechem,  Bethel,  Hebron,  Beersheba,  and  Moriah. 
In  the  distribution  of  the  promised  land,  Shechem  fell  to  the 
tribe  of  Ephraim.  Moses  told  these  people  that  at  Shechem 
Abram  had  built  his  first  altar,  under  the  majestic  oak  of  Moreh ; 
that  the  well  which  they  found  there  had  been  dug  by  Jacob ; 
that  Jacob  had  given  to  his  son  Joseph  yonder  parcel  of 
ground;  and  that  Joseph  lay  buried  there,  side  by  side  with 
his  brothers.  The  sanctuary  of  Bethel  was  in  the  lot  assigned 
to  the  tribe  of  Benjamin.  The  people  read  in  Moses  that 
Jacob,  in  his  flight,  saw  at  Bethel  the  theophany  of  the  ascend- 
ing and  descending  angels,  and  on  his  return  to  Canaan  Jacob 
built  an  altar  there,  and  called  it  El-beth-el.  Hebron  was  in 
the  inheritance  of  Judah.     The  descendants  of  Judah  learned 


TEEASUEY  OF  MEMOEIALS.  529 

from  the  Book  of  Genesis  that  Hebron  was  the  third  resting- 
place  of  Abram,  and  the  sanctuary  with  which  the  history  of 
the  patriarch  was  most  closely  identified.  As  late  as  the 
arrival  of  the  Hebrews  with  Joshua,  the  oaks  of  Mamre  may 
have  been  standing,  near  wliich  Abram  built  his  altar  and  his 
tent.  There  the  old  patriarch  saw  six  theophanies;  there  he 
rallied  his  fighting-men  for  the  pursuit  and  slaughter  of  the 
kings ;  there  he  received  the  covenant  of  circumcision ;  there 
Ishmael  was  born  ;  there  his  tent  was  visited  by  the  tln-ee 
angels,  one  of  them  Jehovah,  on  their  way  to  the  overthrow  of 
Sodom  and  Gomorrah ;  there  the  forthcoming  birth  of  Isaac  was 
announced;  and  there  Sarah  died.  We  are  left  to  imagine  the 
eagerness  with  which  the  record  was  scanned  by  the  Hebrews 
for  these  memorials  of  the  past,  and  for  others  equall}'  signifi- 
cant, —  even  the  distant  and  then  inaccessible  Moriah,  where 
Isaac  was  offered  up  ;  Mahanaim  and  Jabbok,  east  of  the  Jordan, 
where  Jacob  wrestled,  was  defeated,  and  prevailed ;  the  groves 
which  the  patriarchs  planted  at  Gerar  and  Beersheba,  to  shield 
their  flocks  from  the  Syrian  sun,  and  the  wells  which  they  dug 
near  by  to  quench  their  thirst ;  together  with  the  graves  at 
Shechem  and  Machpelali,  where  their  illustrious  fathers  were 
waiting  in  silent  expectation  the  resurrection  of  the  dead. 
We  may  safely  recognize  in  these  minute  details,  and  their 
value  to  the  people  of  God,  one  of  the  leading  designs  of  Moses 
in  the  Book  of  Genesis. 

In  contemplation  of  the  permanent  settlement  of  the  Israel- 
ites in  the  land  of  Canaan,  Moses  pointed  out  their  consanguin- 
ity to  their  nearest  neighbors.  Padan-aram,  towards  the 
north,  was  the  home  of  Nahor,  the  brother  of  Abraham. 
These  family  ties  were  strengthened  by  the  marriage  of  Isaac 
and  Jacob  with  the  descendants  of  Xahor.  The  Moabites  and 
Ammonites,  the  posterity  of  Lot,  Abram's  nephew,  dwelt  in  tlie 
region  south  of  Damascus  and  east  of  the  Jordan.  Ishmacl's 
twelve  tribes  spread  themselves  over  Arabia,  south  of  Canaan, 
and  afterwards  far  towards  the  east.  Keturah's  six  tribes  went 
into  the  region  towards  the  south-east ;  and  Esau's  eleven  tribes 
took  possession  of  Mount  Seir,  and  in  process  of  time  occupied 


530  SACEED  HISTORY. 

Arabia  jointly  with  their  kindred,  the  sons  of  Keturah  and 
Ishmael.  The  Hebrews  in  the  promised  land  were  almost  sur- 
rounded by  their  kindred.  The  Book  of  Genesis  spread  out 
before  them  in  detail  the  pedigree  of  these  peoples.  The  gene- 
alogy of  Nahor  is  recorded  in  Gen.  xxii.  20-24 ;  that  of  Lot,  in 
xix.  36-38 ;  that  of  Keturah,  in  xxv.  2-4 ;  Ishmael's,  in  xxv.  12- 
16 ,  and  Esau's,  in  chap,  xxxvi.  These  registers-  settled  for  the 
Israelites  in  Canaan  every  question  of  importance  which  could 
arise  touching  their  relations  to  the  inhabitants  of  the  border- 
lands. The  practical  lessons  embodied  in  these  environments 
are  sufficiently  obvious. 

The  immense  and  powerful  tribes  grouped  around  the  land  of 
Canaan,  twenty-nine  in  number,  with  their  sheiks  and  castles 
and  towers,  all  of  them  the  offspring  of  Abraham,  made  good 
God's  promise  to  him,  "  Thou  shalt  be  a  father  of  many 
nations ; "  although  in  a  higher  sense  the  promise  looked  for- 
Avard  to  the  kingdom  of  David  and  Solomon,  and  will  receive 
its  consummation  in  the  ingathering  of  all  nations  into  the 
kingdom  of  Christ.  The  moral  lessons  were  such  as  these : 
First,  the  Israelites  were  admonished  by  these  memoirs  not  to 
despise  their  neighbors.  Moab  and  Amnion  proceeded  from 
the  family  out  of  which  Abraham  came  ;  Ishmael  and  Keturah's 
six  sons  were  Isaac's  half-brothers ;  and  Esau  was  the  twin- 
brother  of  Jacob.  The  antipathy  between  the  Israelites  and 
their  neighbors  might  have  been  better  controlled  if  they  had 
remembered  their  common  origin.  Next,  such  of  the  Jews  in 
after-ages,  as  looked  for  salvation  because  they  had  Abraham 
for  their  father,  ought  to  have  learned  from  the  condition  of  the 
rejected  races,  that  those  only  who  follow  the  steps  of  faithful 
Abraham  are  counted  for  his  seed.  And  further  still,  the 
family  pride  and  arrogance  of  the  Hebrews  were  severely 
rebuked  by  the  degradation  of  their  kindred  in  Padan-aram,  in 
the  mountains  of  Moab,  in  Mount  Seir,  and  in  Arabia.  And, 
once  more,  the  Israelites  should  have  recognized  the  affinities 
which  bound  them  to  their  kindred,  and  through  their  kindred 
to  the  human  race  as  a  whole,  and  should  have  remembered 
that  the  chosen  seed  were  appointed  to  be  not  only  the  subjects 


JUDAISM  FALSE  AXD   TRUE.  531 

of  God's  blessings,  but  channels  also  through  which  the  same 
blessings  should  go  forth  to  all  nations.  They  should  have 
.behaved  themselves,  not  as  if  they  were  the  sole  heirs  of  the 
covenants,  but  as  the  servants  of  God  holding  these  blessings  in 
trust  for  all  mankind.  These  observations  furnish  a  sufficient 
explanation  of  the  large  space  wliich  Moses  afforded  to  the 
genealogies  of  the  rejected  races.  It  is  surely  a  mistake  to 
treat  them  as  so  much  surplusage  encumbering  the  record. 
They  are  indispensable  to  its  sufficiency. 

The  Israelites  accepted  eagerly  their  position  as  the  heirs 
of  the  promises,  and  repudiated  vehemently  their  position  as 
the  channels  of  salvation  to  the  outlying  peoples.  This  was  the 
cardinal  vice  in  their  way  of  thinking.  They  and  their  poster- 
ity were  to  be,  so  they  flattered  themselves,  the  sole  heirs  of 
the  covenant  down  to  the  end  of  the  world  ;  and  all  other  races 
were  to  be  outcasts  forever.  Their  own  Dead  Sea,  receiving  all 
the  waters  of  the  Jordan,  and  parting  with  none  of  them  to 
refresh  the  neighboring  deserts,  fairly  represented  their  con- 
ception of  Judaism.  But  in  the  Divine  intention  Judaism 
was  explained  by  Ezekiel's  vision.  A  stream  issued  from  the 
threshold  of  the  sanctuary,  flowed  near  by  the  altar  of  atone- 
ment, and  made  its  way  down  the  mountain  slopes  towards  the 
east.  The  waters  swelled  as  they  flowed,  until  they  were  wa- 
ters to  tlie  ankles,  then  successively  waters  to  the  knees,  waters 
to  the  loins,  waters  for  swimming,  a  river  which  could  not  be 
passed  over.  The  river  poured  its  floods  into  the  Dead  Sea 
until  the  sea  overflowed  its  banks.  Its  desolate  waters  were 
healed.  They  were  soon  alive  with  fish  of  many  kinds,  like  the 
fish  of  the  i\Iediterranean  Sea,  "  exceeding  many."  The  fisher- 
men spread  their  nets  from  En-gedi  on  the  western  shore,  to 
En-eglaim  near  the  borders  of  INIoab.  The  Valley  of  Salt  put 
f)n  tropical  beauty  and  luxuriance.  Wherever  the  river  went, 
every  tiling  sprang  into  life.  On  its  banks  were  many  trees. 
They  bore  their  fruit  every  month.  Their  leaf  did  not  fade, 
nor  their  fruit  fail,  for  the  waters  issued  out  of  tlie  sanctuary; 
and  the  fruit  was  for  food,  and  the  leaves  were  for  healing 
(Ezek.  xlvii.  1-12).     The  Old-Testament  kingdom  of  God  was 


532  8 ACRED  BISTORT. 

like  these  temple  waters.  Salvation,  which  was  of  the  Jews, 
should  come  forth  from  the  house  of  the  Lord,  should  take  its 
efficacy  from  atoning  blood,  and  should  spread  from  family  to 
family,  from  nation  to  nation,  gathering  strength  and  fulness 
from  the  increasing  multitudes  of  the  saved.  The  moral  deserts 
should  be  made  glad.  Regions  of  corruption,  putrid  masses  of 
humanity,  should  put  on  incorruption ;  death  and  the  curse 
should  give  place  to  life  and  blessing ;  and  the  trees  which  bear 
their  fruit  every  month,  whose  leaves  are  for  healing,  and  their 
fruit  is  for  food  whereof  if  a  man  eat  he  shall  never  hunger, 
should  be  planted  by  all  waters. 

One  might  reverently  imagine  that  he  stood  at  the  east  gate 
of  the  temple,  and  heard  the  singers  with  their  instruments, 
surrounding  the  altar,  accompany  the  outflow  of  the  waters 
with  the  Psalm  of  David:  — 

1.  God  be  merciful  unto  us,  and  bless  us, 

And  cause  his  face  to  shine  upon  us;  Selah. 

2.  That  thy  way  may  be  known  upon  earth, 
Thy  saving  health  among  all  nations. 

3.  Let  the  peoples  praise  thee,  0  God ; 
Let  all  the  peoples  praise  thee. 

4.  0  let  the  nations  be  glad,  and  sing  for  Joy : 
For  thou  shall  Judge  the  peoples  with  equity, 
And  govern  the  nations  upon  earth.     Selah. 

5.  Let  the  peoples  praise  thee,  0  God ; 
Let  all  the  peoples  praise  thee. 

6.  The  earth  yielded  her  increase  : 

God,  even  our  own  God,  shall  bless  us. 

7.  God  shall  Mess  us  : 

And  all  the  ends  of  the  earth  shall  fear  him.         (Ps.  Ixvii.) 


INDEX. 


PAGE 

Abraham,  contemporary  religion    .  173 

his  ilhistrious  name 185 

his  expatriation 188 

his  segregation 189 

widely  honored 191 

consummate  blessing   ....  193 

reformer  and  prophet  ....  208 

father  of  all  believers  ....  210 

founder  of  a  nationality  .    .     .  210 

his  isolation  prophetic  ....  212 

spiritual  discipline 216 

trial  of  his  faith 218 

precise  object  of  his  faith     .     .  223 

personal  character 226 

at  Moriali,  offered  himself    .     .  315 

revelations  to 318 

Abram,  his  chronology 184 

his  call  divine  and  sovereign    .  186 

Adam,  first  and  second 64 

Adoption  provided  for  in  passover,  275 

illustrated  liy  olive-tree    .     .     .  280 

Alexander  on  Oriental  jugglery      .  449 

Anthropomorphism  defined    ...  4 

rooted  in  man's  likeness  to  God,  5 

Apostasy,  the  second 05 

progressive 97 

Aryan  group  of  tongues     ....  159 

Augustine  on  tree  of  life     ....  45 

Old  and  New  Testaments     .    .  101 

Babel,  Tower  of,  its  purpose  .    .    .  156 

pagan  confirmation 166 

objects  defeated 167 

Baptism,  infant,  required   ....  293 

silence  supports  grants     .     .     .  294 

objections  answered      ....  298 

Bethel,  its  theophany 344 

its  plenary  promises     ....  365 

Bible,  how  supernatural     ....  1 

its  plan  and  unity 3 

its  religion  historic 6 

its  basis  of  fact 6 


Bible,  its  integrity  and  preserva- 
tion    3 

relation  to  scientific  discoveries,  8 

freedom  from  blunders     ...  9 

its  inerrancy 10 

every  author  from  Abraham     .  213 

some  difiiculties  solved     .     .     .  479 

"Borrowed"      from       Egyptians 

(Exod.  xii.  35) 476 

literature  of 478 

Bunsen,  Chevalier,  on  Gen.  x.    .     .  145 

Butler,  Bishop,  offering  of  Isaac    .  309 

Cain,  lessons  from  his  crime  ...  80 

seed  of  the  serpent 80 

remonstrated  with 84 

under  the  curse 87 

hearing  the  voice  of  blood    .     .  88 

Canaan,  its  idolatry  and  corrujition,  176 
Candlish,  Robert  S.,  Geography  of 

Gen.  X 148 

Christ,  the  Jehovah-Angel      .     .     .  303 
Circumcision   related   to  justifica- 
tion    223 

Church,  beginnings  of 101 

its  original  constitution    .     .    .  102 

a  visible  society 209 

Jewish  and  Christian  identical,  282 
Commonwealth,     Hebrew,     theo- 
cratic      499 

ruling  idea  of 500 

fusion  of  the  civil  and  religious,  501 

first  written  constitution  .     .     .  503 

Cook,  Canon,  on  value  of  spoils      .  475 

Covenant  of  works 50 

of  grace 65 

Abrahamic,  its  three  stages  .     .  195 

Abrahamic,  exposition     .     .    .  229 

its  perpetuity 285 

outstanding  engagements     .     .  289 

confirmed  by  an  oath   ....  200 

of  Sinai 496 

633 


534 


INDEX. 


PAGE 

Creation,  six  days  of 17 

"  conflict  literature  "     ....  19 

explanations  ad  intervn    ...  26 

three  proposed  solutions  ...  26 

"  good  "  and  "  very  good  "   .    .  16 

Cosmogony,  Mosaic,  its  lessons  .     .  12 

with  man  in  view 16 

Crucifixion,  the,  a  national  crime   .  273 

Cyrus,  his  relation  to  the  kingdom  .  517 

Dana,  Professor,  testimony  of     .    .  17 

Darwin  hypothesis  considered    .     .  39 

Death-i^enalty,  its  reason   ....  132 

Death  a  penal  evil 59 

Deluge  in  harmony  with   the  his- 
tory    112 

its  relations  to  science  ....  113 

traditions  of,  numerous    .    .     .  Ill 

Assyrian  tablets 115 

Aryan  traditions 116 

Turanian  traditions 117 

its  extent 119 

type  of  final  judgment ....  124 

introduces  new  epoch  ....  127 

"  Dust  of  the  ground  " 43 

Eden,  Garden  of 44 

its  ti"ees 45 

judgment  in 59 

expulsion  from 59 

cherubim  at  the  gate    ....  60 

pagan  echoes 61 

quitted  with  hope 76 

veritable  history 77 

Edomites,  their  jilace  in  history .    .  366 
Egypt,     reasons      for     the      exile 

thither 371 

its  arts  and  learning     ....  373 

its  "  treasure-cities  "     ....  405 

its  riches  and  splendor ....  421 

Enoch,  his  anthem 94 

Esau  followed  his  propensities    .     .  334 

separation  complete      ....  344 

Ethnology  on  unity  of  the  race  .     .  151 

Evolution,  atheistic 39 

theistic 41 

Ewald,  Professor   H.,   on  circum- 
cision      300 

Excision,  sovereign 266 

penal 267 

through  Balaam's  seduction     .  268 

of  the  lost  tribes 269 

within  kingdom  of  Judah     .     .  270 

in  the  wilderness 271 

from  Malachi  to  the  cross     .    .  271 


PAGE 

Exodus,  no  other  such  emigration  .  414 

marks  new  era 464 

a  triumphant  departure    .    .    .  474 

vast  value  of  spoils 475 

why  long  route  chosen ....  480 

Fall  of  man 55 

its  effects 57 

Pelagian  view  ,.)....  58 

Farrar,  Canon,  on  linguistic  roots  .  161 

First-born  for  first-born 463 

redemption  of 473 

Forbidden  fruit,  rationale  ....  55 

Genealogy  embracing  all  nations    .  146 

proves  Noah  a  prophet     .    .     .  146 

of  chosen  seed 319 

Genesis,  Book  of,  authenticity   .    .  519 

its  eleven  sections 30 

its  Egyptology 522 

free  from  Egyptian  errors     .    .  524 

its  interior  nexus 525 

thesaurus  of  memorials    .     .     .  528 

Gentiles  brought  in  by  fall  of  Jews,  278 

re-act  in  favor  of  Jews     .    .    .  279 

Geology  immature 25 

prophetic 29 

Goshen,  its  fertility  and  beauty .    .  391 

Gospel,  protevanijeliuin 65 

wrapped  in  judgment  ....  67 

Grace,  victory  over  judgment     .    .  129 

God  repenting  and  grieved     ...  97 

Hagar,  descendants  of 325 

Ham,  his  place  ascertained     .    .    .  151 

Hannibal  echoing  Noah's  curse  .     .  139 
Heathenism    preparing    man    for 

Christianity 178 

Hebrews,  imijunity  of,  from  mor- 
tality       409 

a  remnant  faithful 410 

double  bondage 411 

tribal  organization 413 

Hengstenberg  on  Oriental  jugglery,  449 

History,  sacred,  defined      ....  1 

materials  of 2 

contact  with  secular     ....  6 

antediluvian,  value  of  ...    .  107 

its  fountains,  in  Gen.  x.    .    .    .  145 

Hitchcock,  Edward,  primitive  man,  24 

Holy  Land  divinely  selected  .    .    .  232 

kept  for  Israel 233 

transfer  and  adaiJtation    .    .    .  235 

its  drawbacks 239 

its  present  aspect 240 


INDEX. 


535 


Holy  Land,  type  of  heaven  . 
Horsely,  Bishop,  on  Eden  .  . 
Huxley,  on  limited  knowledge 


Image  of  God  in  man      .    .    . 
Inspiration  selecting  material 

foresight  of  future  knowledge 
Isaac  otferiug  himself     .     . 

forbids  human  sacrifices 

teaches  substitution 

Christological  .     .     . 

the  son  indeed      .     . 

his  chronology      .     . 

in  bis  father's  steps  . 

fine  traits  of  character 

almost  stationary 

strong  out  of  weakness 

prophecy  to  Esau  fulfilled 


and 


Jacob,  suftremacy  foretold 

meaning     of     "  loved " 
"  hated  " 

wisely  preferred  .... 

contrasted  with  Esau   .    . 

enlarged  promises    .    .    . 

theophany  at  Luz     .     .     . 

spiritual  quickening     .     . 

his  polygamy,  how  caused 

his  children  classified  .    . 

inner  household  life      .     . 

at  INIahanaim 

his  remarkable  prayer ..     . 

new  man  and  new  name  . 

his  chronology      .... 

in  the  footsteps  of  Abraham 

prophesying  over  his  sons 

carried  to  Machpelah    .    . 
Japheth  in  Sliem's  tents     .    . 

his  place  ascertained    .     . 
Jethro,  names  and  offices   .     . 

plants  a  germ  of  civil  polity 
Joseph,  his  chronology  .    .    . 

led  of  God,  step  by  step   . 

his  personal  i)iety     .    .     . 

his  inspiration 

tokens  of  his  faith    .     .    . 

whj^  his  body  kept  in  Egypt 

his  wisdom  and  statesmanship 

criticisms  answered      ... 

wise  treatment  of  his  brothers 
Judaism   nursing  Christianity  for 
man 

the  false  and  the  true 


PAGE 

242 
78 
25 

35 
(! 
7 
315 
314 
315 
313 
323 
320 
327 
328 
328 
32!) 
338 


332 


333 
340 
341 
343 
344 
345 
348 
349 
331 
35G 
356 
359 
3G2 
303 
39G 
401 
141 
150 
422 
495 
377 
375 
379 
379 
381 
401 
382 
383 
38G 

178 
531 


Kepler,  thinking  God's  thoughts    .      35 


PAGE 

Keturah,  descendants  of    ...    .  325 

Koran  estimated 2 

Labor  ordained 48 

Ladder  at  Bethel,  significance  of     .  345 

Lamech,  "  song  of  the  sword  "    .     .  90 

Cainite  civilization 91 

Language,  "one    lip   and    word," 

Gen.  xi.  1 155 

ultimate  unity  suggested .     .    .  1(38 

Longevity,  patriarchal 109 

curiosities  of Ill 

diminished 170 

Magicians,  their  feats  explained     .  448 

Man,  dominion 4(3 

body  of,  created 42 

his  dignity 37 

Divine  image,  ruling  idea     •    .  37 

created  single  and  alone  ...  31 

full  grown  at  first 33 

body  and  soul  a  unit     ....  33 

original  vigor  of 34 

particulars  of  Divine  image .    .  34 

Manetho,  his  Hyksos  theory  .    .     .  404 

Manci)htah,  his  peculiar  greatness  .  453 

Materialism  denied 12 

Melchizedek,  character  and    posi- 
tion    17G 

blessing  Abraham 197 

Mercy  mingled  with  judgment  .     .  73 

Messianic  promise,  second ....  138 

third 194 

Moriah,  probable  site  of  temple.     .  31G 

Moses,  taught  by  his  mother  .    .    .  417 

educated  at  Heliopolis  ....  417 

moves  too  fast 419 

his  heroic  faith 420 

among  kinsmen  in  Midian    .    .  422 

theophany  at  the  bush  ....  424 

pressed  into  service 426 

strengthened  Iw  wonders  .     .     .  427 

the  doctrine  of  resurrection  .     .  429 

his  inauguration 4;>5 

before  Pharaoh 437 

writer  of  Pentateuch    ....  510 

his  greatness 520 

writing  about  Moses     ....  520 

Miiller,  Max,  on  unity  of  the  race  .  151 

on  language-roots Kil 

ancient  forms  of  speech   .    .    .  1(32 

Nature,  unity  of 17 

Nimrod,  founder  of  cities  ....  15(5 

Noah  not  saved  by  merit    ....  98 


636 


INDEX. 


PAGE 

Noah,  what  he  represented     ...  99 

second  father  of  mankind    .    .  125 

his  comprehensive  offering  .    .  128 

his  dominion 130 

covenant  with 133 

his  prophetic  ode 138 

compared  with  Adam  ....  143 

his  inspiration 149 

his  sons  distributed 150 

Particularism  newly  recognized      .  176 

not  exclusivism 177 

comi^ared  with  generalism    .    .  182 

Passover  a  teaching  institution  .     .  46G 

a  sacrifice  and  sacrament .    .     .  468 

its  sacramental  marks  ....  469 

and  Lord's  Sujsper 470 

Patriarchs,  their  sins  discussed  .     .  504 

good  men  after  all 514 

trustees  for  the  world  ....  513 

Pedigrees,  Mosaic,  unparalleled      .  169 

Peniel,  its  lessons 359 

Pharaoh,  his  heart  hardened  .     .    .  455 

philosophy  of  hardening  .    .    .  456 

Manephtah 453 

Pharaohs  identified 405 

Plagues  rapid  and  progressive    .    .  443 

manifestly  miraculous      .    .    .  445 

aimed  at  gods  and  sorcery    .     .  446 

Priesthood,        Melchizedek       and 

Christ 306 

rooted  in  tenth  plague  ....  471 

Promises  progressive 189 


Rainbow  appropriated,  analogies 
Rameses  II.,  his  greatness  .  . 
Rawlinson,  Sir  Henry,  on  Gen.  x. 

Sir  George,  on  Gen.  x. .    . 

language  of  Arabians  .    . 
Red  Sea,  crossing  of,  discussed 
Redemption  rooted  in  the  fall 
Resurrection,  doctrine  of 

of  body  emphasized 
Revelation,  first  truths  . 

laws  of  progress  .    . 

sufficient  from  first  . 
Revelations  made  to  Noah 


Sabbath  instituted     .    .    . 
Sabism,  earliest  form  of  idolatry 
Salvation  first  foretold  .    . 


136 
406 
145 
153 
162 
484 
77 
429 
430 
103 
105 
106 
127 

47 

174 

69 


PAGE 

Salvation  through  a  person    ...  69 

Seed  of  the  woman 67 

of  Abraham,  four  classes     .    .  244 

consummated  in  Christ     .    .     .  248 

spiritual,  have  supreme  gifts     .  248 

Seeds,  enmity  between  ....     70-74 

Semitic  group  of  tongues    ....  161 

Serpent,  the  trail  of 367 

Seth,  seed  of  the  woman    ....  92 

his  family  and  Cain's   ....  92 

his  genealogy  prolonged  ...  93 

Seti  I.,  "knew  not  Joseph"   .    .     .  403 

Shechem,  backward  and  forward   .  363 

costly  exclusivism 363 

Shem,  his  place  ascertained   .     .     .  152 

Shepherd  life,  Oriental,  picture  of  .  346 

Shiloh,  who  and  when  ?      ....  397 

Schroder  on  Gen.  x 145 

Sinai,  dignity  of  its  events     .    .    .  496 

importance  of  record    ....  496 

Sin,  problem  of  its  origin  ....  59 

Society,  civil,  its  power 46 

Sojourn  in  Egypt,  its  duration    .    .  392 
"Sons    of    God,"    Gen.    vi.    2  ex- 
plained    96 

Sovereignty  co-working  with  free- 
dom    389 

"  Spirits  in  prison,"  1  Pet.  iii.  18-20,  99 

Supernatural,  word  how  used    .    .  1 

Temptation  of  Eve 53 

Analogies 62 

Theocracy,  results  of 502 

Theophany  of  the  bush 424 

at  the  ladder 344 

of  the  fire  and  cloud     ....  487 

Turanian  groups  of  tongues  .    .    .  163 

Von  Miiller  on  Gen.  x 145 

Virchow,  Professor,  primitive  man,  24 

Vedas  estimated .  2 


"Wilberforce,  character  of  Moses 
■Wilderness,  good  results  of 

education  in  the  law     . 

heathen  benefited     .    . 

population  of    ...     . 

crucial  test  for  critics  . 
Woman  not  inferior  to  man 
"Worship,  first  ordinances  of 

enlarged  ritual     .    .    . 


524 
481 
482 
483 
490 
492 
32 
104 
127 


SCEIPTUEE    TEXTS 

INTERPRETED    OR    REFERRED    TO. 


Geitesis.  page 

Gen.  i.  1,2 27 

chaps,  i.  to  1 30 

i.  27 42 

i.  26-28 4G 

ii.  1,  3 18 

ii.  7,  27 42 

iii.  14, 15 80 

iii.  21 82 

iv.  6 84 

iv.  16-24 89 

V.  2 31 

V.  3 81,  143 

vi.  1-8 91 

A'ii.  19-21 120 

viii.  20-22 127 

ix.  1-27 127 

X.  15-19 147 

xi 155 

xii.  2,  3 177 

xii.  1,  3 l'S4 

XV.  16 139 

xvi 199 

xvii.  5 18-5 

xvii 200 

xvii.  18-21 323 

xviii.  1 187 

xx.,xxi 202 

xxvi.  2,24 32r, 

xxix.  1-30 340 

XXX.  1-41 348 

xxxi.  1-21 3.52 

xxxii.  1,2 355 

xxxiii.  18-20 3(i2 

XXXV.  18 350 

xxxvii.  33 3.")0 

xxxvii 375 

xliii.  32 370 

xlvi.  7 350 

xlvi.  34 370 


PAGE 

Gen.  xlviii.  7 365 

xlix.  4 3G3 

xxii 202 

Exodus. 

Exod.  ii.  1-10 416 

ii.  11-14 418 

iii.  11-22 426 

iv.  10-29 436 

viii.  20 471 

X.  1, 20 456 

xii.  27-36 454 

xii.  27 467 

xiii.  2 471 

xxiv.  3-8 292 

xxxiv.  25 467 

xxxii.  26-29 397 

iv.  22,  23 463 

xii.  15 469 

Leviticus. 

Lev.  iv.  15 498 

ix.  1 498 

xvii.  11 131 

xviii.  21 175 

xviii.  13 348 

xxiii.  5 464 

xxvii.  32 316 

Numbers. 

Num.  X.  29-32 495 

xi.  25 488 

xi.  22 489 

xiii.  33 96 

xxi.  18 492 

xxiii.  9 237 

xxi.  18 492 

XXV.  9 275 

xxviii.  6 128 

537 


538 


TEXTS  INTEBPRETEB   OR  REFEBEED   TO. 


PAGE 

Num.  xxxi.  35 275 

xxxii.  11 280 

X.  29 422 

ix.  3 4G4 

ix.  7 467 

iii.  13 471 

viii.  16,  18 472 

xviii.  16,  17 473 

xi.  25 488 

xi.  22 489 

Deuteronomy. 

Deut.  i.  9-18 495 

i.  8 286 

ii.  25 120 

ii.  9-19 201 

V.  15 466 

iv.  6-8 190 

vii.  12 292' 

viii.  7-9 237 

xii.  31 310 

xxi.  12 275 

xxiii.  8 275 

XXV.  17, 18 71 

XXV.  18 494 

xxviii.  12 477 

XXX.  20 286 

xxxi.  15 488 

xxxiii.  8 397 

xxxiv.  10-12 521 

viii.  2,  5 494 

Joshua. 

Josh.  ii.  10,  11 483 

iv.  24 483 

V.  12 491 

V.  2-8 267 

V.  5 410 

V.  1 483 

xii.  4 96 

xxiv.  2-14 175 

Judges. 

Judg.  i.  16 -.495 

iv.  11 495 

viii.  9 359 

Samuel. 

1  Sam.  i.  27,  28 477 

2  Sam.  xxi.  16 96 

viii.  13 367 

Kings. 

1  Kings  iii.  11 477 

ix.  20, 21 139 


PAGE 

1  Kings  xii.  25 359 

2  Kings  vi..5 477 

xiii.  22,  25 287 

Chronicles. 

1  Chron.  i.  34-50 366 

vii.  20-22 413 

xvi.  15-18      .......  286 

2  Chron.  v.  14 489 

vi.  1 487 

XX.  7 185 

XXXV.  1,  11, 14 467 

xxxvi.  7 270 

Ezra. 

Ez.  ii.  36-39 271 

Nehemiah. 

Neh.  ix.  19 487 

ix.  7,  8 287 

X.  28 276 


Esther. 


Esth.  viii.  17 


276 


Job. 

Job  xix.  25-27 432 

xxxi.  26-28 174 

Psalms. 

Ps.  ii.  8 476 

xxi.  4 476 

xxvii.  4 476 

Ii.  10 42 

Ixxxv.  11 11 

xlix.  15 432 

xcix.  7 488 

cii.  13,  15 277 

cv.  39 487 

cv.  41 492 

cv.  8 412 

cv.  39 487 

cvi.  45 412 

cvi.  37 310 

ex.  4 307 

Proverbs. 

Prov.  XV.  8 82 

xix.  17 477 

XX.  22 355 

xxii.  7 477 

Eoclesiastes. 

Eccles.  iii.  19 28 

viii.  11 Ill 


TEXTS  INTERPRETED   OR  REFERRED   TO. 


539 


Isaiah.  page 

Isa.  vi.  9,  10 4G1 

vii.  14 G9 

xxiv.  2 477 

xxxiii.  22 500 

xli.  8 185 

xliv.  28 518 

xlv.  1-6 518 

xlviii.  21 492 

liv.  9 129 

Ix.  3 142 

Ix.  3-5 277 

Ixi.  2 75 

Ixv.  17 42 

Ixv.  20 110 

Ixv.  8 281 

Ixiii.  8,  9 483 

Jeremiah. 

Jer.  iv.  4 297 

xi.  16 280 

xxxi.  34 292 

xxxii.  40 ',  292 

xliv.  22 270 

EZEKIEL. 

Ezek.  xxiv.  3 355 

xxxix.  21 375 

xlvii.  1-12 531 

Daniel. 

Dau.  iii.25 214 

vii.  14 214 

xii.  1,  3 432 

HOSEA. 

Hos.  xii.  4 358 

xiv.  2 297 

Joel. 

Joel  i.,  ii 239 

Amos. 

Amosiv.,v.  19 240 

MiCAH. 

Mic.  vii.  20 287 

Malachi. 

Mai.  i.  2,  3 332 

iii.  1 305 

Matthew. 

Matt.  iii.  5 121 

iii.  12 75 

X.  5,  6 180 


PAGE 

Matt.  xiii.  38 68 

XV.  24 180 

xxiii.  35 86 

xxiv.  38 100 

XX.  18 272 

xxii.  31, 32 429 

xxiii.  32 461 

XXV.  31 345 

XXV.  41 73 

'Mark. 

Mark  vii.  27 181 

X.  6 44 

X.  33,  34 272 

xii.  26 429 

-  xiv.  12 ^67 

Luke  i.  54-73 288 

i.  68 141 

ii.  23,  24 473 

ii.  9,  13 345 

iii.  38 44 

iv.  13 72 

xiii.  32 367 

xiv,  26 333 

XX.  37,  38 429 

xxii.  43 345 

xvi.  29 519 

John. 

John  ii.  21 34 

iii.  5 297 

iii.  36 298 

V.  46,47 519 

viii.  44 54 

viii.  56 225 

xi.  57 272 

xii.  40 461 

xiv.  27 398 

Acts. 

Acts  i.  10 345 

ii.  10 276 

ii.  5 120 

iv.28 375 

vii.  22 523 

vii.  3 185 

\'ii.  16,  50 214 

vii.  16 363 

vii.  23-28 416 

viii.  5 363 

ix.  4,  5 87 

xii.  23 367 

xiii.  46 278 


540 


TEXTS  INTEBPRETED   OR  REFERRED   TO. 


PAGE 

Acts  xvii.  4-12 276 

xvii.  26 21 

xviii.  4 276 

X 194 

xviii.  6 278 

KOMANS. 

Kom.  i.  20 12 

iv.  1,  8 221 

iv.  11,  18 210 

iv.  16,  17 193 

V.  12-21 56 

V.  19 21 

ix.  7 244 

ix.  10-13 267 

ix.  18 462 

xi.  11-15 277 

xi.  17 266 

xi.  26,  27 290 

xi.  5-17 281 

xi.  30,  31 280 

COKINTHIANS. 

1  Cor.  V.  5,  8 469 

V.  7 467 

•     vi.  19 34 

vii.  14 301 

XV.  21, 22 21 

XV.  22 1 

XV.  22-45 56 

2  Cor.  V.  21 85 

iv.  4-6 306 

xi.  3 54 

Galatians. 

Gal.  iii.  8 283 

iii.  16 70 

iu.  17 292 

iv.  22,  26 252 

iv.  29 367 

Ephesians. 

Eph.  ii.  19 101 

iii.  15 101 


PAGE 

Eph.  V.2 128 

V,  25, 33 32 

COLOSSIANS. 

Col.  i.  23 .120 

iii.  10,  11 297 

Thessalonians. 

1  Thess.  ii.  15,  16 278 

TraiOTHT. 

1  Tim.  ii.  11, 14 53 

vi.  16 .    . 487 

Hebrews. 

Heb.  i.  1 207 

vii.  7, 14,  24 308 

ix.  15 49<3 

ix.  19, 20    .    . 292 

vi.  13-19 203 

X.  5 128 

xi.  7 143 

xi.  14,  16 243 

xi.  22.    .    . 381 

xi.  24-26 418 

xi.  4 86 

James. 

Jas.  i.  13 58 

ii.  23 185 

Peter. 

1  Pet.  iii.  18-20 99 

iii.  21 74 

iv.  6 100 

Epistle  of  John. 

1  John  iii.  12 87 

JCDE. 

Judel4, 15 94 

Revelation. 

Rev.  xii.  9 54 

XX.2 .  64 


^^^^        __       


BS1197.2.H92 

Sacred  history  from  the  creation  to  the 

Princeton  Theological  Seminary-Speer  Library 


1012  00050  3963 


